Flashback
by UwIllNevERn0
Summary: Dr. Destiny has a plan, one that he is sure will destroy the Justice League. "I'm going to trap all of you in the mind of the darkest, most twisted member of your team as you relive his painful past." "No offense Bats, but I really don't wanna see what's going on in your brain." "I wasn't talking about him, Wallace," Dr. Destiny grinned, "I was talking about you." (Pic not mine)
1. Prologue

**Hey guys! I haven't written anything in a long time, and definitely nothing for the Justice league before. So please, be nice to me in the reviews. **

**This is rated M just to be safe, but I don't think it'll ever get too graphic. Thanks again for reading! **

* * *

Trapped.

Well, not quite, but they might as well have been.

Six of the founding members of the Justice League (the only one absent being J'onn, who was manning the Watchtower) were frozen by some invisible force smack dab in the middle of Metropolis for the entire world to see. Just earlier they had been investigating an incident involving strange occurrences with immobile citizens, and now they were much closer to the case than they had originally anticipated.

"Hey Supes, wanna explain why we can't move?" the Flash couldn't stand being immobile for more than a couple seconds.

Superman's eyes glowed as he surveyed the team's situation.

"There's some strange aura around us. I can't really identify it."

"Magic." Batman grunted and a familiar glare settled onto his face.

"Aw, man. I hate magic." Green Lantern rolled his eyes.

"The least they could have done was freeze Flash's mouth."

"Hey!"

Joking aside, Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, Superman, Batman and the Flash were all feeling pretty vulnerable at the moment. It didn't help when a familiar shrouded figure approached them from the shadows.

"John Dee?" The skull face, the cape, the whole sha-bang. The telepathic terror that attacked them in their sleep was somehow visible now when they were wide awake. A nightmare was brought back that few of them wanted to face.

"Wonder Woman, I think it would do you good to remember my name is Dr. Destiny." The skull face somehow managed to form a crude smile.

"How did you recover? And how did you freeze these people? I don't remember you being able to use magic." An unsettling laugh filled the street as onlookers began to shuffle farther away from the scene.

"Batman, I'm not dumb enough to give you any leads on how I did this," Dr. Destiny took a couple steps closer to the bound superheroes, "But I can tell you what I plan to do next.

"I've been shifting through all your memories for the past couple nights while you were asleep. I know you all better than you probably know yourself." Dee relished the shocked expression of the meta-humans. "Don't be alarmed. I don't plan on telling anyone anything. At least, not until I first destroy the Justice League from the inside. I thought, 'Dee, why not create some self-sustained torture? Destroy the team bond? Watch them discover the darkness in even the purest soul...' I think I got the perfect plan.

"I'm going to trap your collective consciousness into the mind of the darkest, most tortured member of the league as you relive his most painful moments."

The team tensed and all looked towards Bruce.

"No offense, Bats, but I really don't wanna know what goes on inside your brain." The others silently agreed.

"Oh but Wallace," Flash cringed at the sound of his full name, "I wasn't talking about him."

Destiny took slow deliberate steps towards the red-clad hero. Cherishing the looks of confusion on the other's faces and fear hidden deep in the eyes of the scarlet speedster.

"I was talking about you."

The silence was deafening. The other members looked at Destiny to find some hint of a joke. Even Batman looked shocked.

"What? Little ol' me?" Flash's trademark smile was slightly off-set, his voice a pitch or two higher than usual, things only apparent to Superman's sharp eye and ear.

"Don't play this off with a joke, Wallace. I know everything about you, and soon the rest of your team will too."

"Hate to be a bummer, but the darkest thought I ever had was that I might die before I get to visit Themyscira," the Flash shrugged, "I can rest easy now."

"Then you won't mind this little excursion at all." Dr. Destiny threw some cans on the ground, which quickly began emitting a grey cloud of gas. Each hero felt their vision begin to blur, before steadily declining into darkness.

"Good night, heroes. Enjoy your nightmare."

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**Review please! Not sure if I'll continue this story or start a Young Justice one, but I have the entire plot in my head. Just need the motivation to**

** write it out...which is fueled by reviews. ;)**


	2. A Vision of Red

**Hey Guys! I'm going to give this a couple more chapters. See how it works out; honestly, I got this all planned out guys, makes me wanna write it. Okay, hope you enjoy! On with the story! **

* * *

Groggy groans echoed throughout the darkness. Batman woke up the fastest, and saw the rest of the team-minus the flash- was passed out along the black enigma that engulfed them.

"Where are we?" Wonder woman rubbed her head, and the others around them slowly began to come too.

"Not sure. But based off what Dee said," Batman scanned the area once more, "and the fact Flash is gone, I think we're inside Wally's head."

"Sounds about right, it's pretty empty." Green Lantern tried to crack a smile, but the infinite black around them and what they had heard earlier unsettled the team. The silence was not altogether unpleasant, but it amplified the feelings of suspense and dread.

"Do you think what he said is true? Do you think Wally really is as troubled as he said?"

"I don't know Shayera," Superman gestured to a small figure in the distance, "but I think we're about to find out."

* * *

"Ugh, I'm hoping that was just a really bad dream," Flash rubbed the side of his head and surveyed the surrounding darkness.

"No, but this is." Dr. Destiny stalked out from behind the shadows, seemingly manifesting from nothing. The area suddenly morphed in a blurred movement, becoming something similar to the outside of a interrogation room. A long, steel table with two chairs on either side was in the center of the room, with John occupying one of them.

"Take a seat." Flash rose an eyebrow from underneath his red cowl.

"No, thanks. Not this isn't fun and all but-"

"Oh but Flash, I insist." The heroes body suddenly moved against his own will and sat in the cold chair. The sterile metal unsettled him, and his own inability to move his body unabashedly scared him. In desperation, Wally surveyed his surroundings, specifically the wall of glass that was in front of him and Dee. His eyes widened when he saw the team below them, on the other side of the glass, confused in the dark and slowly gaining consciousness.

"Guys!"

"They can't hear you, Flash. You are merely going to observe their expressions, specifically their horror, as they find out every fact about you. That alone would probably break you."

Flash squeezed his eyes shut.

_They won't judge. They've been through worse. They can handle this. _Wally's concern was visible on his face. _I can handle this. _

"Quick question, Doc. Why me? I'm probably the least of your concerns when it comes to League power."

"I wouldn't say that at all," Dr. Destiny spun a golden scepter in his hands. _Did he always have that? _

"Let's see...Wonder Woman and Superman are icons to the league, but the pain they have felt is immeasurable to the amount I need to make something actually scarring. I don't think any of the other members would actually feel an impact. Hawkgirl and Green Lantern, both have felt quite a bit of pain. Yet, both are replaceable to the team, Hawkgirl was even out of commission for a while."

Flash was about to argue how important they each were, how GL was an important strategist and Shayera was his big sister...but he decided that these were just one of these moments where he should shut up and listen.

"So the obvious choice was Batman. The brains behind the Justice League, the one with the plan to destroy the league if it ever came to that. I must say his mind is very interesting, not a nice place to be." Destiny rubbed his chin, "I quite liked his plan too, but it lacked any of the suffering that I wanted to inflict first. However, I noticed something in each member's mind. They had a special little spot for you, either an odd form of respect or affection, and a little birdie told me that you were the heart of the team." _Luthor! He must be working with him. How else would he have known that? _

Wally may act dumb, but he was actually very bright, and piecing together problems was what he did for a living. Not as a detective, but at least as a forensic scientist.

"There's no better way to destroy something, that to attack the heart of it, am I right? To be honest, you were not what I suspected at all, your mind has been through quite a bit, hasn't it?" Dr. Destiny grinned widely, "I almost felt bad for you."

"Yea, I can tell you're real broken up over it."

A small figure began running towards the league outside the glass, and behind him everything began to illuminate. The outlines of a house became visible; it was broken, rotting, but the small red-headed boy didn't seem to care. He had a bright smile on his face, and once the last of the inky black disappeared, finalizing the picture, Wally realized exactly what was going on.

_That's-_

"I said 'almost,' Wallace." Dr. Destiny turned towards the glass, "it seems the show is about to begin."

* * *

A small red-headed boy was playing around in the dank, stuffy house. He only had a small fire truck, but he seemed happy enough as he pushed around on the stony floor of the living room. Each member of the Justice League felt the childish contentment that he was feeling at the moment.

"Is that-?"

"It's Wally." Bruce narrowed his eyes as he took in the poor condition of the house. It didn't seem like he grew up in Central City.

Wonder Woman approached the miniature speedster.

"Hey Wally, what are you doing?" The young boy completely ignored the dark-haired Amazon, which would have normally infuriated her, but she couldn't help but feel a strange calmness as he stared at the red fire truck.

"I don't think we can do anything," everyone's heads turned to Batman, "All we can do is sit back, and watch."

"Then how do you expect us to get out of here?" Shayera had a bad feeling about this.

"We won't. Flash will have to do it."

A loud slam outside the room indicated that someone just came home. Wally shot up from his former seat, and wave of exhilaration and unsurpressed happiness rippled through the group. In a couple seconds, a young, beautiful red-headed women walked in the room, picked up Wally and placed him on her hip. She was around 27 years old, and obviously loved her 5 year old son more than anything in the world. The joy that the young son felt seemed to have increased ten-fold, if that was even possible.

"We can feel his emotions?" Even Superman was disturbed by the prospect.

A second bang and Wally tried to get out of his mother's arms, attempting to run to the door to greet the other person who just arrived. A sturdy, robust man picked Wally up and spun him around in a circle.

"There's my boy! You're Dad missed you," he turned to the young women leaning on the couch, smiling at the scene, "Mary, I've missed you probably just as much."

"Since we're all home tonight, I think I'll have to make a special dinner," Mary turned to Wally, "What do you think I should make, Wallace?" The light in his blue eyes, something that he shared with his father, brightened as he came up with the perfect meal.

"Mac n' cheese!"

John immediately frowned, and looked at the rest of the crew.

_John and Wally sat together in the Latern's apartment, watching some TV shows, but really just decompressing from a hard mission from the day._

_"GL, I'm starving." John rolled his eyes at him and gestured to the fridge. _

_"Got some mac n' cheese in the fridge."_

_"Really? A U.S. Marine eating mac n' cheese? Wow, so you have two chinks in your armor!" Green Lantern rose an eyebrow. _

_"You're not going to eat it? You've eaten things weirder than mac n' cheese." Flash shrugged his shoulders and grinned._

_"It seems to be the one thing I can't stomach."_

"I don't like where this is going."

"Why not? It seems to me that Wally is really happy."

"Princess, trust me. I think this is going to get a lot worse."

* * *

Wally's dread was growing.

"You know, Doc, you could do some real good with this sleep thing of yours. Cure insomniacs everywhere."

"Do you always try joke to conceal your problems? Change the subject?" The Flash knew he was caught, but he didn't want to admit to that.

"I'm serious! Just think, you'd-"

"You tend to run away from your problems, don't you?" Flash just grinned.

"Hey, if you haven't noticed, running is kinda my thing."

* * *

Batman knew the Flash better than he let the others know. He knew him since he was 14 at least, and he thought that he got a pretty good judge of character since then. Something was always deeply bothering the young speedster, but he had passed it off as irrelevant problems based on his light, joking character. Batman just realized that that's what he had wanted him to do all along.

"All right, Wallace. You and I will go to the grocery store and get your mac n cheese while Daddy stays home to rest a while," Mary turned to her husband, "Sound good, Rudy?"

"Sounds perfect." Rudolph placed Wally on the ground who ran towards the coat hanger to grab his winter coat. It was snowing outside, hinting to the team that this was the middle of winter.

"Mom!" Mary smiled and grabbed Wally's hand. Her laugh was warm, welcoming, like bells chiming set off by a soft breeze. At least, that's how Wally remembered it, and so that's how everyone else felt about it.

As the pair exited the door the scene changed to a blistering cold. Mother and child cringed at the icy view, but walked out towards the street and turned right. The store was only a couple blocks away, making a walk much easier to manage than a drive. Observing their surroundings, the League noticed the neighborhood looked worse off than the West's house; broken windows littered many houses and people lit fire in garbage cans to warm themselves. Wally kept looking around, while Mary kept her stare forward. She stopped by and said hello to many of the people on the sidewalk; there was a deep sense of community within the area, a bond forged by all of their unpleasant circumstances. Even Wally stopped to say hello to some people who, if the League was being honest with themselves, would have either avoided or ignored based off of their appearance. However, Mary's face suddenly changed when she spotted a group of sharply dressed men in suits.

Isn't it ironic, that she feared the men that most people would trust more often.

She grabbed Wally's hands and began to walk a little faster, while trying to maintain a sense of normalcy. But she didn't look afraid. Wally didn't either; he knew you can never look afraid.

"Hey, kid," said one of them men in plain white suits, how he wasn't freezing was a mystery to Wally, "we need some help. Mind if you help us?"

"Don't look at them, Wally." Wally knew his mother would chastise him later, but what if they really did need help? That would be bad to leave them, right?

John looked away.

"Even then, he was too good for his own good."

The innocence in his childlike eyes would be his downfall. Wally pulled his hand away from his mother and ran towards the group of finely dressed men. They were snugged in between two buildings, in a stereotypical dark alley way. Wally's mother ran right after him and grabbed him but it was too late, they were caught in the cover and secrecy provided by the walls.

"Looks like your son is good to help us." Bruce recognized the twisted smile on the mobsters face, it reminded him of someone he knew too well. This wasn't some random criminal, he was one of those people who loved chaos. Who created pain not for any real goal, but just to watch the world burn. The mobsters moved to reveal a young girl bound and gagged at the back of the alley way, and the league could feel the confusion of Wally as he wondered why she wasn't wearing any clothes, why there was so much blood on her. The mobster pulled out a gun and pointed at the young girl.

"This poor girl's been through a lot, and I was hoping you would put her out of her misery. All you do is point this at her and pull this thing here, and shell feel better." Mary panicked and tried to grab her son.

"Wally, no-" And she was silenced by a couple of goons when she felt the barrel of a gun poking the side of her back.

"Now, now don't be rough boys. We're just a couple of good guys, right? So why don't you help us help her?" He threw his arm back to the girl casually, who was crying hysterically. Wally was confused; something was telling him that this was wrong, but he never had a reason to not trust a person before.

"Here." He pointed at the strange object made of cold metal. He didn't own a TV, and his parents had desperately shielded him from the violence of the neighborhood, it had obviously backfired.

"I hurt my hand." He growled slightly and threw the object into Wally's hand. He showed him how to hold the gun, and by now Mary was thrashing against the men as she tried to reach her son.

"You seem to have got it, right?" Wally nodded. "Now aim, and pull that little thing there."

"Wally, no..."

The League wanted so desperately to pull back his hand, to stop him from pulling the trigger, but even as Shayera tried to stop him, her hands moving through his small ones like an apparition, a loud bang echoed through the alley.

So many things happened at once.

If the sound scared Wally, it didn't matter. The gun recoil was too much for his young, inexperience hands and the metal hit him sharply at the side of his head, making the world slowly being to fade.

Before everything was gone, he saw that someone must have quickly painted the end of the alleyway, as it was now a bright red. Even when he was probably unconscious, and his vision had failed him, he heard another loud sound, another bang through the alleyway, and a sudden weight on his body.

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**Hmmmm...I think you guys know what happened, if not, until next time right? ;)**

**Please Review, the more of those I have, the more I want to continue the story. **

**Next time: The aftermath, the Team's and Wally's reaction, and the next chapter of life in his life. **


	3. Quick Thinking

**Hey guys! **

**So this is kinda the deciding chapter, depending on how many reviews I get I'll decide whether I wanna write out this story. **

**Any advice, ideas or anything is really appreciated, and please ignore any typos in the Chapter.**

**Thanks for all the reviews I've gotten so far; it's made me want to write out! Please read the bottom message, too!**

* * *

Wally had his head between his knees, his eyes squeezed shut as he tried to take slow, deep breaths. Slow for him was normal paced.

_Well, now they know. _His hands came up to rub his eyes and his temples. He looked through the glass and saw the shocked faces of each member, and even the pure horror hidden in them. _They know I killed two people before I even turned six. _

"Bravo, really," Dr. Destiny was applauding the scene that just unraveled before them, "Really, how stupid could you get?"

_I've asked myself that question enough times already._ Wally didn't answer; he just covered his face with his hands to try and shut out the image he had long forgotten.

_I'm going to have a figure out a way to end this dream. Before...ugh._

"It's hopeless you know, you are going to re-live this, and they're going to learn more about you...and then they're going to either hate you, sympathize with you, or break under the pressure."

Dr. Destiny was pleased at the broken silence rolling off Wally, or at least, he thought.

"Got any popcorn?" Wally smirked back at Dr. Destiny's shocked face, though inside he felt like absolute shit.

_I'm not going to lose this game. I can't. I'll figure something out. _

The scene began to evolve but the Flash wasn't really watching. His mind was racing at light-speed, analyzing and reanalyzing any possibilities.

* * *

The team felt the darkness begin to slowly recede, and a horrible headache spread throughout each member. Wally opened his eyes only to see red hair, sticky with blood, in his vision. He felt an unknown weight on top of his body, slowly beginning to suffocate him. He pushed it off, and it fell limply to the side. He turned to look at the body only to see...

"Mom?" Her skin was grey, and her body was lighter than it should have been. He realized with horror that he was completely coated in the red sticky substance that drained out of mother.

"Mom!" Each member felt it; the emotional pain ripped through them so strongly it didn't feel like a dream. Bruce found it completely familiar: the grief, confusion, guilt, remorse...The young Wally gripped his mother's body in the alleyway as he cried everything but his memories away. The tears blurred his vision, but when he caught the intense red at the end of the alley, he whipped his head towards it so fast that he got dizzy.

The sight was gruesome.

The girl...Her body was tangled, hunched over in an odd shape. Scarlett stains covered the walls and seeped down for her head. The dirt and snow that covered her body made her look blue, contrasting in a kind of sick beauty to the pink ground that framed her. Upon further inspection, Wally saw that one of her eye sockets was empty, nothing but blood and bits and pieces of a pink frothing from the empty hole.

He shot her in the eye.

Wally realized that he had been tricked, horribly. The pain he was feeling at that moment made it hard to breathe, the terror creeping into him slowly. He found the gun he committed the deed with still in his hand, aimed in the direction where his mother had once been standing. He knew his actions had killed the girl...but his mom? He didn't even remember killing his mom.

(It turns out he didn't, it was a different bullet lodged in his mom's lower back...but he wouldn't know that.)

He gripped his hair and began to pull it until he felt blood seep from the pores. He was a monster. A curse. He shouldn't be here. His hands slowly found his way to his neck, as if he wasn't controlling them himself. At a leisurely pace, his hands tightened their grip, until he felt the air escape him and fell back into blackness.

The League had watched the scene with distraught expressions. Shayera had her eyes closed shut, Wonder Woman her face in her hands, John and Bruce standing next to each other but not saying anything. Superman covered his eyes, then slid his hand down to his mouth and spoke in something above a whisper.

"I didn't know Flash ever felt like this," Clark dropped his hand by his side.

"I'm not sure if I can take much more," Shayera admitted. This was her little brother, and she couldn't imagine living with this weight on her shoulders.

"We have to," the man of steel's face hardened with resolve, "for him. He lived through this, we can bear watching it."

"Maybe that's it?" John had a hopeful expression on his face, but he knew it was fruitless.

"It's not over yet." Batman felt for Wally, his past was obviously darker than he ever thought. He knew he could handle whatever came at him, but as he turned to look at the rest of the group he wasn't so sure about the others.

Once again, the scene shifted so that they were back inside the run-down home of the West's. It moved in a blur, and if one looked closely he could see the evidence of how this was a dream: there was no time's on the clocks, the books lacked titles, and the scene skipped like an old movie.

Wally peeled his eyes open, which were tired and red from crying, and saw he was on his bed back at home. When he sat up, a wave of pain hit him, but he saw the outline of his dad at the foot of the bed. He looked like the picture of a shattered man; he sat on the floor, not even in the chair right next to him, and held a bottle of vodka in his hands like it was his lifeline. Though Wally didn't know what that was; he never had seen his Dad drink it before.

"Wallaccceee," Rudolph stumbled to stand until he gripped his son's shoulders, "You okay?" His breath reeked, and Wally moved away from his face. In confusion, Wally decided not to answer. He looked back at his dad's blue eyes, the same eyes he had.

"The po...police brought you here." He burped, turned around and sat back on the floor. After what seemed like an eternity, his father spoke again. Instead of concern in his voice, it came out rough, almost accusing.

"It's not true is it?" His dad slowly turned to face his son. "You didn't kill that girl...you didn't kill your mother...did you?"

Wally did what every young kid did when they were guilty, he tried to defend himself.

"I-I, I didn't m-mean to-"

A hand smacked him against his face, hard enough to send him flying off his bed towards the wall. Wally was shocked into silence; he looked up to see his once loving father contorted into the image of anger and vehemence.

"Wally!" Shayera cried, but it elicited no response from the young child on the floor.

* * *

Wally wondered before what made his Dad change from being so caring to the monster he became. He decided that his Dad had loved so much and so intensely, that his reaction to the loss of it and the pain he felt was just as intense. Because if you are able to go so high, then it's only fair that you are also going to go so low.

"Not even loved by your own father." Flash turned to look at Doctor Destiny, once again looking at his golden scepter.

_Well, can't say I blame Dad. I agreed with him. It was my fault. _The scarlet speedster stared at the stupid rod in Doc's hand. _He didn't have that, I'm sure of it. Who uses those things again? I've seen it before. _Flash's face fell when he realized exactly what kind of villains used that particular instrument.

_Ugh, I hate magic. _

* * *

"D-dad-" Wally was punched in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to double over in pain.

"Don't! DON'T CALL ME THAT." Rudolph picked up Wally's leg and dragged him to the middle of the room, then proceeded to hit him until he was covered in black and blue and red. "You're a monster! A monster! You're not my son!" Wally's screams were unreserved, loud and piercing.

"How can none of the neighbors hear what is going on?" Wonder Woman flinched at the sights and sounds.

"They either don't want to," Batman glared at the scene, as if his will could make it disappear, "or they hear it too often to care."

"Shouldn't..." All the others looked at Shayera. "Shouldn't we be feeling his emotions? I don't feel afraid, or sad...I feel..." Superman lowered his face as he looked at the broken body of the young boy.

"Acceptance."

Wally was felt himself slipping from reality. His father's eyes seemed to have cleared a little as his emotions began to recede, the temporary high from the booze leaving him with a crash.

"Wallace, I'm sorry," he clutched his son in his arms, "I didn't mean too."

And Wally believed. He forgave him even. In fact, the League felt Wally's anger, that he believed he should be the one apologizing.

Rudolph heard a knock at the door. Panicked, shocked, he knew that Wally's state would raise huge suspicion.

_"West, it's the Police, we have some follow up questions for your boy." _

"Just a second!" His head whipped around as fast as a speedster as he tried to figure out what to do. His eyes locked on a door down the hallway, and he quickly dragged Wally, unaware of the pain he caused in his panic, to the door. He opened it, picked Wally up, and looked straight into his eyes, like a mirror image.

"Not. A. Word." Wally nodded his head, and before he could even register what was happening, he was thrown into darkness and the door slammed in his face. His body slammed down a series of steps until he hit the bottom floor, where he just decided to lay on the cool surface. His dad must have been really drunk if he thought throwing him down into the basement was a good idea.

_"Where's the boy, Rudy?" _Shuffles and muffled whispers could be heard among the heavy silence.

_"I woke up and he was gone...I...I think he ran away."_

_"We got a runner, boys. Prepare to search the city. We'll find your kid, Mr. West." _

The door slammed shut upstairs, and Wally fell asleep.

The group felt, without really getting any indication by the background, a series of time had passed. Maybe three or four days, and they could still not see nor hear anything more than silence. Wally, finally able to move from his place on the floor, began to crawl up the stairs. Gingerly feeling one step at a time, he finally reached the top. Light seeped out of the bottom of the doorway, and he could see a box of cereal there for him on the corner of the walkway. He ignored it momentarily, and reached for the doorknob to open the door.

The knob jiggled in his place, but wouldn't budge. It was locked.

Cold fear moved throughout his body like ice.

"D-dad..Dad!" Banging on the door, tears pricked the corner of his eyes. "DAD! PLEASE!"

When the door opened Wally fell through, and saw the glint of metal in his vision. His Dad was standing above him, drunk again, and waving a knife in his face.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stay down there. And won't...won't come back." His dad looked conflicted, the knife shook in his hand, but Wally didn't care. He was still hurt from last time, so he moved down the stairs and let Rudolph shut out the only beacon of light. He stayed behind the door silently, patiently, until the day his dad would let him out. He stayed that way, for three years.

John felt the silent rage building in himself and the rest of the team as they realized the shocking truth.

"He was a prisoner in his own basement, for three years."

* * *

_Come on, Wally, what do you know about magic. _

Flash was thankful for the distraction, making his mental search even more vigorous. He thought back to the debate he had with Doctor Fate, trying to convince him that what he achieved with his powers was actually an advanced form of science. One of the few times he was thankful for goofing off.

_"Come on Doc, admit it." Wally nudged the older hero with his elbow, who wouldn't even look in his direction. _

_"That's not how magic works, Flash." _

_"Of course not, that's because it DOESN'T work," Flash grinned with a sense of victory, "science does." Fate turned towards Wally and finally graced him with a decent answer. _

_"In order to use magic, you say an incantation, a spell, and sometimes you have an object that you can channel your magic through to help focus it. My helmet, for example, or an amulet, can help add magical prowess. However, you are bound by whatever you say in the original spell. A fight between magicians is usually carried on by countering spells with new ones, or manipulating the flaws and loopholes set in the original spell. You saw what happened to Morgan Le Fey's son. So if you can explain how science can be somehow summoned by saying a series of magical incantations," Fate turned and drew his signal in the air, which glowed a luminous gold, "I'll believe you." _

_A bright light shone and the hallway now only had Flash standing in it. He shrugged, turned around, and began to walk away. _

_"Touchy."_

Flash turned towards Dr. Destiny (_another Doctor...ironic)_ and decided to try to talk an answer out of him. He wasn't Batman, but... he's pulled it off before. He remembered with fondness his successful interrogation by dropping a guy off a building.

"So Doc," Flash pointed towards the scepter, "trying to accessorize?"

"It's a gift from a friend." Flash raised an eyebrow.

"You kinda struck me as the solo type."

"I made an exception." Silence...

_Okay, I'll try and get a little closer to the point. _

"Pretty sweet looking, that rod thing. I mean, I almost get a sense of, magic from it."

_Lame._

But there was no response from the man at the other end of the table.

"You know, I always thought you were a man of science, Doc. Got your powers by science, used your powers with drugs and medication- that's science...Now that I see you used _magic_-"

"I know how much you hate magic. I know everything about you."

"Okay, then. You must also know how annoying it is when you constantly interrupt me. So, stop it. Anyway, now that I see you rely on magic...seriously cheapens your act, dude. Thought you were able to do this all on your own." Doctor Destiny growled.

"For your information, I could easily pull this off. I just wanted to strengthen the experience, heighten the feelings so that they extend past your consciousness, and onto your teammates."

_And now, we are getting somewhere. _

"So what? 'Abracadabra, show Wally's worst nightmares, and make his friends feel it too?'"

"Essentially, yes. Except as an incantation and with actual words of power."

_Sweet! So now I know he's using magic, what words he used...well kinda, and i got a basic understanding of magic. Since I can't exactly counter the spell, I'm going to have to work around it._

He saw that the sheen of black was beginning to change, and he knew that it was about to get worse again. He knew that unless he...

_I got it! _

* * *

The League felt the scene move, and stop. And suddenly a flurry of colors danced around them, like watching a movie being rewinded at hyper speed.

"What's happening?" The scene began to bend and morph until it was back to the familiar black.

"Flash did something." Bruce looked around and felt like he was back where they were before, in that same basement.

John looked incredulous.

"Did he?"

* * *

"What," Dr. Destiny stalked towards Flash, lowering himself to eye level and growled out each syllable, "Did. You. Do?"

"Well, you said your spells showed all the bad moments. I'm just forcing my mind to put in all the times you left out," Flash enjoyed the Doctor's frustration, "the good moments. I'm not all doom and gloom like Bats."

"You're whole life is going to play out now. You shouldn't have been able to even altar that." The power of Doctor Destiny, he didn't even realize, resonated in whether or not he could get his "patients" to believe in what he wanted them to believe. "How did you do it?"

Flash just shrugged.

"I dunno. Thought I could?"

* * *

**Okay, thanks for reading guys! Please review if you want this to keep going, if not I might put it on a break and try writing the story I had in mind for Young Justice first. I'm going to have to finish the story in week, whichever one I pick...Might not be updated within that time, but it will be all written out. **

**Also, I think I'm going to move Batman to be more than just a supporting character, maybe to a secondary character role. Just a step above the rest. **

**Like that's new. **

**ANYWAY, what do you think?**

**What happens next: Meet Granny Flash, The Watchtower finds the heroes. **


	4. Getting Better

**Hey, guys! So, I'm going to continue this story, but the updates are going to come a little slower. **

**And special thanks to ****_Lonely Bleeding Liar,_**** who gave such supportive and positive reviews through the whole story so far. Talk to me guys, in your reviews tell me any ideas you have and what you would like to see; I'll definitely take it into consideration!**

**So please, REVIEW! **

* * *

Flash and Dee stared intensely at the glass window, or really what was beyond it. Dr. Destiny could have easily rebuked Flash's attempt to alter the scene if he had used magic, but he didn't. That meant that he wasn't really the one in charge of he spell, that he was simply channeling it through the scepter in his hand. Dr. Destiny was attempting to use his own telepathic powers to overwrite the Flash's will. However, he felt the same way many of the Flash's villain had felt at one point or another.

He just couldn't keep up.

The average human brain, on a very rough estimation, was capable of making 20 million billion computations per second. It was hard enough just trying to overwrite and predict those thoughts already, but it was even harder when your patient was going at least three times faster than that. It was humanly impossible for him to keep up with Wally's mind on super-speed.

"Alright, Flash, we'll do it your way." The doctor sat down, barely containing his anger. "Trust me when I say I plan on breaking your mind and body after this charade."

"No doubt, but I wouldn't count on it though."

Flash was focusing on the image he wanted to bring up, he could see it begin to manifest in front of the others, it seemed less sharp than the previous image, less potent, but it was all he could conjure up.

_Come on, come on. Guys, don't remember me as some pitiful kid, remember me for me._

Once the scene was set, he glanced at the golden rod in Dr. Destiny's hand.

_Now I just have to get that magic-stick-thingy. _

* * *

_"J'onn, something weird is going on in central Metropolis." _

"Yes, Mr. Terrific," J'onn had been addressing and teaching some of the new workers in the Watchtower the standard protocol. He had his hand in his comm link, responding to the static buzz that resounded in his ear. "I already sent the founding members to investigate the incident."

_"Yea...They seem to be caught in it too."_

J'onn frowned. His body became transparent, and he slowly floated up the floors until he materialized directly in front of Mr. Terrific.

"Status report."

Terrific brought up a news channel, which had a recording of the six heroes passed out in the middle of the street. It was apparent that they weren't waking up anytime soon; Batman was even snoring.

"I have to go down there and recover them."

"I wouldn't, at least, not without Fate." As if on cue, Dr. Fate materialized through the wall and stood behind Terrific.

"I took the liberty to install some new technology into the comm links; glad I did. I was able to access each members body and brain activity: decreased body temperature, erratic heart rate and respiration are all indication of delta, or slow-wave sleep...meaning they're all in a dream state. Definitely forced."

"I will need to enter their mind's to wake them."

"Right," Terrific nodded and squinted at the scene, "but I don't think it's going to be that simple. I'm detecting some sort of weird interference around each of them; basically non-detectable, but better safe than sorry. That's why I want Fate out there too."

"You think it's magic."

"It's the only thing I can't detect."

J'onn agreed with Terrific's theory and turned to Dr. Fate.

"Are you ready, Dr. Fate?"

The golden-shielded head nodded as they headed to the javelin.

* * *

A bright light suddenly ignited from above them, each of the founder's had to shield their eyes. They felt unaccustomed to the intensity of the light, but also an overwhelming joy at the sight of it.

"Hey, fellas! I think there's someone down here!"

Wally had been in the basement for three years; for the last couple days, there hadn't been any food at the door, so Wally knew something was wrong, and had been waiting for some kind of sign. The sign turned out to be a cop shining a flash light in his face.

"Jesus, guys, there's a kid down here!"

The League was disgusted at the sight of Wally, he was incredibly pale, and almost like a sac of bones. His bright red hair was brown from all the dirt and dust in it, his icy eyes pierced through the long strands of hair. Apparently, the officers shared their horror, since they didn't bother to conceal it in their face. Wally didn't really notice; the heroes felt his confusion, he was trying to figure out something...

He couldn't remember how to talk. It made sense. He was in a critical learning stage in his life and he had been shut out from any opportunity to grow.

"Listen, kid, how long have you been down here?"

Blank stare.

"Well, kid? You know how to talk?...Was it...did you know the guy that lived here? A relative, maybe..." The officer recognized the kids' eyes from the picture of their suspect, Rudolph West. "Was he your Dad?"

Wally knew that word. He remembered it because it was the vague figure he was hoping to see everyday. Nodding vigorously, he repeated what the officer said.

"Dad!" The two police officers looked at each other in concern.

"Alright, so it was your Dad here. So you must be Wallace West...you reported missing ages ago. Here's the thing: your Dad got in some trouble, and seems to abandoned this house, so you can't live here anymore."

Wally continued to stare at him. He was secretly kind of agitated; everything they were saying was going in one ear and out the other. The cop held his hand out to the young boy.

"Now, we're going to clean you up and bring you to a place where you can stay with a bunch of other kids who are missing they're parents. You'll make a lot of friends. How does that sound?"

Wally blew a piece of hair out of his face.

"That's a good enough answer for me. Let's take him and get the hell out of here."

The scene skipped and jerked a little, until the heroes saw Wally and his new police friends driving down a street in a place that looked very familiar. It looked like Central City. Wally sat in the back of the police car with excitement. He had gotten a haircut, a shower, and some really good food. Thus, he deemed these guys were alright. He noticed the surroundings of his area change drastically as the car sped continued down the street; there was more green, more people, and very tall buildings, the tallest he had ever seen in his life. He briefly wondered if he had entered a different world...which was, in a sense, kinda true.

The car slowed to a stop in front of a large building, titled "Central City Orphanage." It looked semi-dilapidated, and there was an old, but gentle looking woman standing in front. Wally exited the car with his escorts and held their hands as he walked up to the entrance of the building.

"Is this him, officers?" When the woman smiled her wrinkles deepened, but it seemed to only make her face appear even more friendly.

"Yes, ma'am. Doesn't seem to talk much. I think he was kept in the basement of the house since he was five, so he might not remember much," the police chief coughed, "he's had a hard life, but I don't think he realizes it."

"Well, everything is relative. If he is able to keep on going, then that indicates good character," the older woman held out her hand to the young boy. Wally took her hand without question. "He's very trusting. Not a bit afraid!" Her aura made even the officers smile.

"Do you remember your name?" The officers had called him by something a few times, something he found familiar. He knew he just had to...

"...Wallace?" It was barely above a whisper, and for an old woman she must have had super hearing.

"Wallace? That sounds so serious, and I don't think you're a very serious kind of person. How about Wally?" Wally smiled; he liked that.

"And you can call me Grammy, can you say that?"

The league was completely surprised when they heard that. It didn't really occur to them that 'Grammy Flash' could be real. Everyone smiled when they heard this. Even the very outer corner of Batman's lip twitched upward.

"Grammy."

"Right, very good. I think I have it from here boys, Wally and I will be great friends."

From here, the scene began to blur and rush forward. They were separated, unhinged, but the league could grasp what was going on in each moment.

...

Once was where Wally had been bullied for his quiet demeanor. Sitting on the grass, separate from the other children, just watching him interact, he found a pile of sand suddenly thrown intro his face. His eyes hurt, and when he looked up to see a large kid laughing at him, along with a few other children, he felt hurt. He felt anger, and he felt that the child needed to be taught a lesson.

That was how he ended up on the roof with a bucket of water. He had planned to get back at the other kid by throwing a bucket of water on him from the roof.

"Nu-uh, Wally," Grammy chided as she brought him away from the ledge. How she knew he was there he was never able to figure out. "An eye for an eye, and everybody always ends up blind. Justice is better than revenge."

Wally grabbed her hand and followed her down the stairs for dinner. Grammy scolded the bully later that night and sent him to bed without dessert. All he would have done was get him wet, which just didn't seem as fitting against the older, slightly tubby , Wally decided, she was right.

...

A couple years later, and the young speedster had finally begun to talk again. Wally had found a snake in the garden, but one of the houseworkers quickly took him away from the snake and had killed it with a shovel.

"It wasn't right, Grammy, the snake didn't do anything," the younger Wally wasn't crying, but he looked very close to it.

"Many people fear things they can not understand or control," she ruffled his hair, "you aren't like that. You're one in a million. But think about it from the gardner's point of view, what was he doing?"

"...He just wanted me to be safe." Grammy smiled.

"I'll go tell him thanks...but also to not hurt anymore things." She couldn't help but laugh at his antics.

"That sounds fine, Wally."

...

Grammy was making her famous apple creme pie, something she only ever did when someone was visiting.

"Who's coming?"

"My grandaughter, Wally; she broke up with her first boyfriend, and wanted to talk a little. You should never treat a girl badly, Wally, remember that for me will you? Always be nice to them. "

"...boyfriend? I thought most boys thought girls had cooties?" Wally did listen to Grammy's advice, but he just didn't feel like commenting on it. He was nice to everybody anyway.

"You don't think that?"

"They seem fine to me." ("This is where it starts," Shayera muttered under her breath.)

A couple seconds later a girl walked through the front door, which was always open, and ran over and hugged her grandma. She was very beautiful; brown hair and eyes that sparkled, a small waist and long legs...Wally really liked her.

"Grammy! I don't get it! I was a good girlfriend! I gave him anything he-" the young girl paused when she felt a hand tugging on her shirt. She looked down and saw a young red-headed boy, about the age of ten.

"Who are you?"

"Wally." He flashed her a big smile, something that he had also picked up form his Grammy.

"Who are you?" The adolescent girl rolled her eyes; she wasn't sure what this kid was getting at. She just wanted to talk to her Grandmother.

"Belle."

"Belle...You know that means beautiful in French?" She laughed at the kids' attempt at flirting. Wally kept his huge smile on his face, and was now leaning on the counter with one hand. His face was red with embarrassment.

"That's pretty good! But you got be more confident, like this..." Belle walked over, forgetting her temporary sadness, enveloped in Wally's warmth and flattery.

Grammy just smiled.

"Grammy, this kid might be a huge ladies' man in the future."

...

Each memory swerved by and felt rushed, the heroes only gaining slight impressions from each one, but they knew what Grammy meant to Flash. She was the person who taught him how to behave, the difference between good and evil, and where to draw the line. Then the scene seemed to be defined by an instant of clarity, and the league could tell a monumental moment in Wally's life was about to occur.

"Wally," Grammy was closing all the windows, shutting the doors and locking any entrance. By now, Wally was around eleven years old, and was one of the older boys in the orphanage. "Take everyone outside to the backyard."

"What's going on, Grammy?" Wally called the other children as he was told but still waited for an answer.

"Some villains escaped from the Central City bank. They're headed this way and I don't want anyone caught in the cross fire. They're blockading the streets right outside."

"Got it." After Wally had evacuated the children to the backyard and Grammy finished closing the home, they began to take roll of each of the children sitting. Grammy eyes' widened when she realized one of them were missing.

"Where's Sally?"

"She was sitting on the front lawn when I saw her," answered one of the kids sitting on the grass.

"I'll go get her."

"Wally! No! I'll-"

"Grammy, it was my fault. I messed up, so I'll go get her!" Wally ran away before she could grab him to keep him still. He sped through the halls and jumped over furniture before unlocking the front door and peaking his head out. They were police cars barricading the street, and he could see a car speeding crazily in the distance. Wally felt like he was in the middle of an action TV show, and he-like every child might have-felt very impressive at the moment. Very badass.

He heard some muffled sobs and turned to look at a bleach blonde girl with pigtails hiding behind a bush. Snapping out of his daydreams, he called over the young girl.

"Sally! Sally, come here!" When she heard his voice, she immediately stood up and bolted out towards the door. However, the car was now a lot closer. Maybe a little too close. In order to dodge the police cars, it swerved off the street and...right towards the orphanage. The screeching tires alerted the two kids to the oncoming car a little too late. Sally screamed when she saw the metal death trap, and did the classic and single most annoying thing anyone who is ever about to be hit by a car could do. She froze. A deer stuck in the headlights.

Wally reacted quickly. He sprinted from the door, jumped down the steps and basically shoved her out of the way of the fast approaching metal. Then Wally, beginning to develop his odd sense of humor, was severely disappointed when his life didn't flash before his eyes.

The car's lights blinded him, and he closed his eyes with what he thought was the final time...

Until he opened them and saw he was on the other side of the street, floating. Not really floating, but suspended by two red arms. When he was placed back on the ground, he looked up and saw what later became the single most important thing in his life.

The Flash.

* * *

**GASP. What will happen next? **

**Next time: Who is the Flash, J'onn and Fate Investigate**

**PLEASE!...review? ;)**


	5. Fresh Start

**Okay guys, here it is! And I apologize for the mix up with Wally's eye color; just choose whatever color you want it to be haha. You can pretend I said green last chapter. **

**So my updates are going to take longer now. My life started back up again. :( You know I was reading this one story and they made a certain review quota need to be fulfilled before they updated. **

**I won't do that but...reviews are nice :). So, hope you like it! **

* * *

Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl were a little more than confused with what they saw in front of them. Batman, John and Superman all seemed to be caught up to speed, which only aggravated them more. Why was there a Flash when Wally was standing right there?

"Excuse me," Hawkgirl cut in, "But would someone like to explain what's going on?"

Batman piped up to inform the alien and Amazon princess.

"Wally isn't the first Flash. He learned from his mentor, Barry Allen." John remembered his friend with fondness and was sure Batman and Superman felt the same way. Seeing him alive again, and so vividly, certainly brought back memories.

Wally stared up at his savior. It didn't take him very long to figure out who he was. The legendary status of the Flash, and the amazing sacrifices he has made for Central City, were legendary and reverberated throughout the town. His exploits were often retold by Grammy to the children as bedtime stories. Wally had been one of the kids who wanted to meet him so badly, that he considered setting the home of fire. He was that desperate.

Recovering the criminals from the car, the police had the situation under control and had even calmed down Sally. Wally continued to gape at his hero; he took in the scarlet costume, the lightening bolt that cut straight across the waist, and the blue eyes showing through the two slits in his cowl. Eventually, those eyes moved to look back at the star-struck young boy.

"Hey, you okay, kid?" Barry lowered himself down so that they were talking eye to eye, "That was pretty brave."

Wally couldn't even hear what he was saying he was so excited. A huge grin broke out across his face.

"The other kids are gonna be so jealous." Barry grinned.

"Glad to see you're okay. What's your name?"

"Wally."

"You a boy in the orphanage?"

"Yea, I-"

"Wally!"

Wally whipped his head around to hear the panicked voice of Grammy. Before he could blink, he suddenly found himself back across the street and right in front of her, with the Flash right next to him. Grammy looked just as surprised as he was.

"...Whoa. That was fast." Barry ruffled Wally red hair. Relieved, Grammy scooped Wally into a big bear hug and sighed. Wally hugged her back, but he wasn't sure what Grammy was so worried for.

"Excuse me, Flash." Right across the yellow tape, a young, beautiful reporter stood, calling out to the red clad hero, "This is Iris West from _Picture News_. Could I have a couple words with you?" Barry tried to hide his smile. He turned to the older lady and young child.

"Be back in a flash." Wally would later grown at how often he used that line, but at the moment, he thought about adapting it as his new catchphrase. Almost simultaneously, his hero blurred away while he went over to the reporter.

"Grammy, I want to be the Flash when I grow up."

Grammy didn't look like she heard him, so he repeated his statement.

"What? Sure, Wally. You can do anything you put your mind to."

Wally wasn't sure if it was the excitement of the day, but Grammy looked more tired than usual. She was clutching her abdomen with a pained expression on her face.

"...Grammy? You ok?" She snapped out of her trance and turned towards Wally.

"Yes, Wally. I'm going to go get the other kids out of the backyard now that all this hullabaloo is over. Can you talk to the police and ask them how long they'll be here? Might need to make some supper for them."

Wally nodded. He didn't believe that his Grammy was okay, though; she was walking slower than normal and more hunched over. Her back was usually straight and strong, almost defying her age. He decided that he would have to check on her later. As he began to head over to the police, he changed his mind and ran over to the Flash.

"Flash!" Iris and Barry both looked in his direction and smiled.

"Now, who is this little guy?"

"This guy," Barry placed his hand on Wally's shoulder and put him in front of the camera, "is a hero."

"Really?"

"Yes. He was ready to sacrifice himself and pushed that girl out of the way of the car."

"Wow!" Iris moved the microphone down to the boy's height. "So what's the young hero's name?"

"Wally." If it had been any other situation, Wally would have hit on the gorgeous reporter, but for some reason he felt like that would be wrong.

"So you're from the orphanage, right?" Wally nodded. "Were you scared?"

"Not really." Iris laughed and the camera man motioned for her to close the segment.

"Well, that is one brave kid. I bet in the future you're going to grow up to be an amazing man. This is Iris West reporting to you from the Central City Orphanage, back to you Steve." The light on the camera went out. Wally turned to look at the Flash, who appeared to have just winked at the female reporter.

Wally stored that away for future memory.

"It was nice meeting you kid. But now, I gotta run." Wally grabbed his arm.

"Wait, Flash, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, shoot."

"Can you come back and visit us? The other kids would be really excited." Barry was touched at Wally's thoughtfulness.

"Sounds like a plan."

Flash kept his promise and even visited the very next day.

* * *

Doctor Destiny was livid. Upstaged, and not even by someone with amazing prowess like Superman, or incomparable intelligence like Batman, but by the League's clown. His pride had taken a serious blow. Now, he felt as if the spell he had cast on them to be a curse was beginning to dissolve before his very eyes.

Flash concentrated on projecting positive memories; it was seriously draining overcoming Dee's telepathic powers, and he was beginning to think he couldn't keep it up anymore. His body lay completely still, even eerily so, as his mind zoomed forward at incomprehensible speeds.

_I'm going to have to take a break soon. _

"Hey Doc, I'm hungry. Got any food around here?"

John Dee growled.

"And don't tell me you have a knuckle-sandwich. Heard that one way too many times before."

Destiny decided one thing. The Flash's superpower wasn't just speed...it was annoyance. And then Dee felt the Flash slip. Finally, he tripped up, and could no longer maintain the mental image. Dr. Destiny grinned.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"

"Well yea, kinda."

Wally's mind took on a more ominous tone.

"Bummer." Flash was trying to catch his breath in his seat.

_Who knew thinking required so much energy. _He paused. _GL would give me so much crap for saying that._

"Did you ever think that maybe you're cursed? The most important people in your life, I've noticed, tend to die."

"Did you ever..." Flash rubbed his chin, thinking, "consider getting a nose job?"

Dr. Destiny's skull face blankly stared back.

"You always have to have the last word."

"Who, me? I would never be so immature."

* * *

The sudden clarity from before, from the original dream scenes, returned with frightening poignancy. Every smell, touch and noise was amplified to the point that they believed it was them who was really in the small, dank room. The young red-headed boy still looked around 11.

Wally was suspicious; Grammy had not been herself the past few days. She took care of all of them, but she was trusting Wally more and more with the kids, telling stories, entertaining them while she went upstairs to rest in her bed. Something was wrong, but Wally thought she would tell him when she was ready.

Early morning, Wally was woken by a younger girl shaking him.

"Wally, Grammy's not coming down stairs." That was odd, she was usually down by at least 6 every morning to cook a huge breakfast. It was 6:40. Maybe she was late, but either way, it deserved investigating.

"Well, don't worry. I'll handle this, you need to go back and get your beauty sleep. That's important for a girl." She smiled and nodded, while Wally got out of bed. He headed up the creaky stairs and knocked on Grammy's door.

"Grammy?" No response. He waited for a good five minutes before opening the door. Dread was pooling in the pit of his stomach, making each step feel heavier, weighted and pressured.

"Grammy...?" Wally saw what looked like bile on the floor. Grammy's body was halfway in the bed, the other half hanging out. Her complexion was pale. Her body eerily still. The stench in the room assaulted the leagues senses, along with overwhelming panic.

"GRAMMY!" Grabbing the phone, he dialed 911 and practically screamed at the operator for an ambulance.

The next few moments were a blur; the only clear thing was the pain and dread. Piercing and raw, the fear drowned their senses, left them thinking illogically. The next thing they saw the was the revolving red lights of an ambulance approaching the orphanage. Wally sat on the stairs, tears flooding his vision, watching the men shuffle up with an empty stretcher. After a few moments, a voice rang out below to the other men waiting outside the door.

"DOA!" Wally turned to the man who had been standing next to him. His face dropped suddenly and now had a forlorn look; it scared him.

"...What's that mean?" Fearing the answer, his question rolled out quieter than a whisper. The paramedic looked at him, deciding whether or not to lie, before deciding on the truth.

"Dead on arrival."

Wally's heart broke.

...

The scene shifted. Wally was in front of a mirror, staring at his reflection as if searching for an answer. He wore nothing but black slacks and was shirtless in the reflection. Red scars laced his arms. The league realized what they were. There were only a couple, and while Wally looked at them, he felt ashamed.

Grammy wouldn't approve of that.

Grammy wasn't here.

Grammy.

She died because of mesenteric ischemia, a condition where inflammation and injury to the small intestine causes inadequate blood supply. It usually doesn't progress past the initial hyperactive phase, but Grammy's persistence to ignore it lead to her critical condition.

Wally knew that something was wrong. Wally knew that she needed help. And yet Wally...didn't do anything.

The guilt he felt was overpowering, similar to something he had felt before but could hardly remember. Sick of looking at himself, he threw on the rest of his black clothing-his official least favorite color- and headed down the stairs with the other kids, ready to attend the funeral.

* * *

That was one thing that hit him pretty strongly, almost destroyed him even. Grammy had been his lifeline during that time when he was lost. When he didn't know who he even was she was there. The only way he had been able to continue without her, was to live the way that he imagined she would approve of. Without her, he could only think of his blood-stained hands and the emptiness of the orphanage.

"I finally got you, didn't I? I see it in your face."

"Yea...You did."

Dee wasn't expecting him to give him a straight answer. His honesty surprised him.

"Haven't you ever had someone you trusted? Who you needed and relied on, and then had them taken away from you?"

"Yes, Flash...That's why I'm a super villain." Dee's face looked angry and maybe even jealous as he turned to the speedster. "And why you're a super hero."

Wally contemplated this. What caused a person, who may have had similar circumstances, similar choices, to diverge from a path? Wally stared out the glass and decided he had to take action.

"Well, this was great. But it's my turn again."

His mind accelerated; he could feel the sinews and synapses strain, but he had to keep pushing his way through. With renewed determination, he took control of his dream.

* * *

The League felt very, very depressed. A new low. Shayera had to stop herself from gouging her eyes out when she felt them become itchy and watery. However, the connection with Wally was severed, and the team found relief in the familiar change.

"Thank Athena," Wonder Woman was holding her head. John shook his head.

"Thank Wally."

Wally was sitting in the room numbly, watching the other kids play games. They weren't as close to Grammy as he was, and they seemed to have moved on to the new caretaker. When Wally was younger, he never wanted to be adopted, but now, feeling the emptiness in the house, he wanted nothing more than to leave.

"Wally," The new caretaker, Sarah, walked over to him and leaned down. She was probably in her mid-40s and was nice enough. It's just that she wasn't Grammy. "Someone is here to see you."

Wally raised an eyebrow.

"Who?"

"He says he's a friend of Grammy. He wants to adopt you."

He looked past Sarah and saw a tall man standing behind her. He had blonde hair, blue eyes and a very familiar smile.

"Hey there," he sat down on the couch next to him, "You're Wally, right?"

"Yea. Who're you?"

"Barry Allen. You don't know me, but my wife interviewed you and the Flash, do you remember?" The happier times seemed faraway from Wally, but he nodded. "Well, after a bit of research, it turns out that Iris is actually your Aunt, from your Dad's side. We wondering if you would want to live with us."

Wally was shocked; he didn't know he had any living relatives besides his Dad. Should he trust him? The man seemed boring, if anything...but boring seemed a lot better than being stuck in an orphanage full of shattered wishes. Wally nodded, took Barry's hand, and walked out of the orphanage. The young child swore that he would always come back to visit, and try and give back to the place that gave him so much.

The league looked angry, and confused. Wally himself was too young to notice the problem with Barry's confession.

"If Barry knew they were related, or even had a nephew, why didn't he gain legal rights to take care of him as soon as he was found? Shouldn't they have been listed as a contact?" Superman was a little peeved that the justice system had failed to work, again.

"It's more complicated than that." The faraway look in Batman's eye suggested he knew more than he let on.

_Batman heard the phone and turned a sideways glance from the computer to check the caller I.D. He groaned and contemplated not answering it. No. It wasn't worth it; he'd just run over here anyway. _

_"What?"_

_"Ouch, no hello?" Batman didn't respond and kept typing away on his computer. He was currently trying to install extra security in Dick's bedroom. _

_"Ok, fine. I take what I can get. Anyway, I have a favor to ask you."_

_"What kind of favor."_

_"I need the world's greatest detective to do a background check." _

_"On who? Captain Cold? Mirror Master?"_

_"Not exactly." _

_Batman raised an eyebrow. _

_"This kid, named Wally, at the Central City Orphanage."_

_"The one you saved from being hit by car?"_

_"How did you...never mind. I don't wanna know." _

_"Why do you want a background check on him?"_

_"I have this weird feeling." _

_"I don't waste my time researching baseless hunches."_

_"Come on, just once Bruce. I feel like that kid...well, I don't know."_

_Batman sighed. This was stupid and impulsive, but he was talking about the Flash so everything he did was like that. _

_"Fine."_

_"Thanks, Batman." _

_Batman discovered that Wally was recovered from abandonment by a man named Rudolph West and had, at a time, been accused of killing Mary West and Laura Smith. His name had been cleared when the gun showed finger prints of a notorious mafia leader, and the fact that there were two different kind of bullets used. After further research into Rudolph West, he found that the city's police department gave virtually no background information on his family, so that was a dead end. The only thing he found was that he lived in Blue Valley, Nebraska before moving to the edge of Keystone city. Sitting back in his chair, Bruce contemplated where he would look too next. Wasn't Barry's wife named Iris West? She also had red hair._

_Worth a shot. _

_He checked her family background and discovered that she had two brothers. The youngest one had been kidnapped at the age of 7 and never found again. His name was Rudolph West. So, there was the connection. Wally was actually Barry's nephew._

_"I'll be damned."_

"After I told Barry, he ran over to Iris to ask him if she wanted to adopt him."

"So, this is how Barry got Wally. I always wondered how he suddenly got a nephew." Green Lantern rubbed his chin. "I thought Iris had an affair or something."

"You're horrible." Hawk girl was smiling as she said that.

"You're worse."

* * *

_Crap. _Flash was holding his head and his eyes were squeezed shut. Pain racked his body. _This is getting harder. It's like my head after I drank 40 milkshakes in 5 seconds._

"Having a hard time, Flash? It's because you know what's coming next. This memory took me a while to find. You locked it pretty deep within yourself." Flash opened one eye to look at the skull.

"You know, someone's gonna bust us out of here. I don't know who or when, but it's coming. I just need to stall."

"Ahh. You misunderstand. Do you know how long a dream lasts usually? On average, it usually between a few seconds to 45 minutes. With your mind, it's probably even shorter. I don't think someone is going to help you in time."

..._J'onn, please hurry. _

* * *

_**And TADA. There ya go. Since updates might be coming less and less, I'll include some short bits of Flash's past. **_

_**I'll call 'em...Flash Funnies. I don't know. **_

_**Please ignore any typos; I didn't edit as much as usual. **_

_**GO. REVIEW. **_

_**PLEASEE **_


	6. Lightning Strikes Twice

**Hello, guys! Wrote this for ya ;)**

**Thanks for the lovely reviews. They really do motivate me to write more. I also appreciate any advice, fact checks, anything! So go ahead and tell me everything you feel about my story, haha.**

**By the way, _MysticSpeedForce1234_, I uploaded one more chapter on my young justice story JUST FOR YOU! Haha, and if you want me to tell you what happens, if you don't want to wait, I can. **

**I just have college soon guys, BLEH, makes me feel old when I say that, and I'm going to be really busy.**

**This chapter to me seems kind of slow, but the other chapter is already in process so no worries guys! **

* * *

The javelin landed in the middle of a deserted Metropolis city. The League members were in the center of the street, unmoving, and surrounded by countless frozen citizens. As soon as they arrived, J'onn and Fate phased out of the ship. Dr. Fate began to move towards the league, but was stopped by J'onn's firm hand on his shoulder.

"Wait," J'onn looked at the people frozen, "we help the people first. They can handle themselves."

Fate nodded and turned to the closest statue to him, a small blonde girl, crying and holding her teddy bear. He touched the top of her head, and looked towards J'onn in surprise.

"They are bound by magic. It's relatively simple; nothing I can not counter." J'onn reached his consciousness outwards towards the people; he could hear them clearly, all were crying for help. They were projecting they're thoughts lucidly, like they would if they were awake. Dr. Fate placed his hand on the young girls temple and raised the other into the air. A ball of light collected as he began to chant his incantation. It grew until it virtually exploded in a bright burst, and both heroes looked down to see the young girl unfrozen in time, crying and holding her bear.

"Strange," J'onn said, "it seems that the only thing the perpetrator did was halt their movement. I scanned their mind and bodies for abnormalities, but everything else remained normal."

"The spell was also fairly simple; it will be a little tiring to counter the spells on everyone, but not impossible." J'onn nodded.

"Start with that then. Once all the people are clear, we'll work on the founders." Dr. Fate nodded and moved on to the next person, presumably the mother of the young girl, considering the newly freed child would not let go of her.

The martian walked over to his fellow colleagues. He noticed a couple things were different about them from the citizens:

1.) They were passed out cold on the ground, rather than frozen in motion

2.) They're bodies were clearly not stopped by the spell; Flash was twitching

3.) He could not reach them mentally.

J'onn frowned and decided he may need a closer look. Kneeling beside the closet member, which was Superman, and he placed his hands on the sides of his head. His senses honed in until he could see something in his mind. There was a dark mist. Almost purple in color, and reminded him of a poison. It was ominous, it felt like it was whispering in his ear, giving him a warning too leave. It enveloped him, drowned him, and felt like he was being pulled deeper into it. As he found himself wading in the dark, he suddenly heard the fresh cackle of wood manifest from the mist, and felt the warm lick of flames. Afraid, J'onn pulled away from Superman quickly.

Things just got a lot more complicated.

* * *

A young Wally walked inside his new home; it was plain and simple, boring like his Uncle Barry, but nothing he didn't like. He walked straight into the living room to see the familiar red-headed reporter from before on the couch. She bounced upwards from her seat and walked over to Wally quickly.

"Wally! I'm glad you're here!"

"Thanks, umm..." She beamed at him.

"Call me Aunt Iris," she sent a look to Barry, who smiled and turned to Wally.

"Wally, your Aunt Iris and I want you to feel welcome, so we asked a friend to do us a favor."

Wally was confused, but a little excited nonetheless.

"Go open the door to the next room."

Wally did as he was told and looked into the center of the room to see his hero, the Flash. How Barry pulled that off bewildered Wonder Woman and Shayera, who didn't know that this Flash could vibrate his molecules through solid objects. Crazily excited, Wally ran at full speed and engulfed him in a bear hug.

"Flash!"

"Hey, Wally! How have you been?" Wally thought about Grammy and his good mood dampened considerably.

"Not so great." Flash frowned.

"Did you not want to be adopted?"

"No...not that. That's fine. I like it actually. I mean, you're here."

"Then what is it, kid?" Wally looked down, ashamed, and mumbled something incoherent.

"Couldn't hear you. What was that?"

"I killed Grammy." Flash's head shot up so fast that it was nothing but a blur of yellow and red.

"No. You didn't."

"Yes, I did. I knew she was sick, yet I-"

"Listen," Flash scooped Wally into a hug, "what happened to Grammy was nobody's fault. Do you think she would want to hear you talk like that?" Wally shook his head. "She would want you to be happy, to act how she taught you to and continue to do things the way you always did."

"How do you know that? How do you know she's not up there blaming me for the things I've done, yelling at me for leaving the orphanage."

"Simple." Flash moved away from the hug to look him straight in the eyes. "Because she loved you. She would want nothing but the best for you. It's not your job to take care of the orphanage, and she would be happy for you that you found a nice family to leave with."

Wally looked up to look into the Flash's eyes. He looked so sad, so broken.

"...It's hard."

"I know, but this family you have now, I know they want nothing more than to try and help you move past this. They hope that, someday, you'll love them the same way you loved Grammy." Wally was still staring off at some point floating above Flash's left shoulder.

"Will you try, Wally? For me?" Wally's head turned towards Barry, he had a renewed determination in his face.

"Yes."

Afterwards, something akin to a montage flooded the league's vision, which they were now all used to. They saw Wally playing catch with Uncle Barry in the Central City park. They saw Wally on his first day at an actual school and how excited he was to attend public school instead of homeschooling. They saw his birthday, Christmas, events and reunions all through his eyes. And they could clearly see how Wally did what he said he would try and do; Wally loved them.

After blurring through the previous moments, time began to slow down and pull into focus. They saw a fourteen year old Wally, who sat on the couch next to Flash. The Flash actually stopped by on special occasions if Wally requested it, and today Wally asked if Flash would be able to spend the day with him.

Today was the day that Grammy had died three years ago.

Of course, Barry could not say no, and was now eating pizza after pizza while Wally sat with his first one still on his plate. He was not much of a big eater, especially on this day. In desperation, Flash decided to off-put the awkward silence by distracting his nephew with a story.

"Hey, kid," Flash said after swallowing a piece of pizza, "wanna hear a story."

Wally had his feet crossed on top of the living room table in front of him, his arms draped out to the side. He had been "watching" the TV, though he really wasn't paying attention. When the Flash spoke, he lowered his feet and turned his face to give him his attention.

"Sure."

"I'll tell you...how I got my powers." Wally's eye's lit up, and immediately turned off the TV and faced him completely.

"Sweet! No way!"

"No, no. You're right, maybe I shouldn't."

"Wait, what?! Na-uh, you can't do that. You already said it, so you have to tell me."

"Well maybe if you _asked _me to tell you, I'd consider it." Rolling his eyes, Wally responded with heavy sarcasm in his voice.

"Please, oh great Flash, tell me how you got you're awesome powers." Barry ignored the sarcasm and accepted the response. Wally was on the verge of his teenage years, he expected some defiance.

"Alright. Alright. I sense you're enthusiasm." Barry downed another pizza, ready to tell his story. "So I was a forensic scientist, like your uncle. That's how I know him actually, we met back in 1967, where we-"

"Flash!"

"Okay, geez. So I was working on a case late one night, and all my other coworkers went home. I walked over to a chemical stand when suddenly, a flash of lightening burst through the window, spilled the chemicals on me, and shocked the hell out of me. What are the chances. So, when I woke up I was fine but really, really hungry. Not only that, when I looked at the clock, the time was weird. The clicks came a little slower, and I saw a cat fall down from a tree at a much slower rate than normal." Uncle Barry ate another piece of pizza. "It took me a while, but I eventually figured out that nothing had slowed down, but that I had sped up. It's actually pretty hard to control my powers, because I basically feel like I have to slow down from my natural state of movement now."

"Cool. What chemicals were on the wall?"

Barry was a little peeved. Seriously? Out of everything he could have taken out of the story, he wants to know what chemicals were on the wall. Flash shrugged.

"I dunno, the usual stuff in a forensic lab. Cyanoacrylate, iodine, silver nitrate, ninhydrin...whatever."

"I thought most people die when they're hit by lightening."

"I was holding on to a metal cabinet, so that probably helped." Barry was confused by his abrupt questions, but let it slide.

"That was a cool story." His Uncle, flattered, leaned back into the sofa with his hands laced behind his head.

"Yep. Much cooler than anything Batman ever says."

The league laughed at the glare on Batman's face.

The rest of the day Wally remained unusually quiet, which upset Barry but wasn't sure why. If anything, he should feel a sense of relief. He shrugged it out and left to go out on patrol, like usual.

A quick fast-forward and Wally was now outside a power station with chemicals placed in front of him. How he got in there and got the chemicals without alerting anyone was a mystery, but the fourteen year old was tinkering away with an electric generator. Against people's perceptions, Wally was actually a very gifted science student. With what he was planning right now, he knew that it could very well end in disaster. There were too many variables. How much of each chemical was spilled onto the Flash? What kind of lightening charge was it, positive or negative? Which way did the current run through the Flash's body? However, though the margin for error was huge, he was completely willing to try.

"Chemicals, check. Metal conductor, check. Now the lightening..." Wally began adjusting the output to the generator, which was hooked up to a metal rod. Wally was holding in his hand another rod, which went from his hand to the ground.

"A lightening bolt is between 100 million to 1 billion volts of power, and is an electromagnetic discharge with slight traces of electromagnetic radiation. So, I'll just go for 500 million volts, and hope that this thingy is going to simulate the same effects."

Green Lantern turned to Batman.

"The only thing that sounded normal coming out of his mouth was 'thingy.' Who knew Flash actually was a nerd." Batman smirked.

"You'd be surprised."

"Oh, so you knew?"

"Of course." Green Lantern turned to back to Wally, muttering under his breath. "Typical Batman."

Wally reached for the chemicals and poured each on his body. He started up the generator, with full knowledge that the working crew would be alerted to an unregulated generator and would be near soon. The metal rod began to crackle with the impressive energy that fueled through it. Checking to make sure his right hand was on the grounded metal, his left hand hovered above the electric pulse.

"If I live through this, I'm so dead." Wally heard shouting in the distance and knew that he didn't have much time left. "Man, this is going to hurt. Here goes nothing."

His hand touched the rod, and the workers saw a bright light explode before them as an ear piercing scream tore through the air. It lasted only a couple seconds, but the silence after was a stark contrast to what happened moments before. One worker acted quickly; he shut off the generator and ran towards the unconscious boy, who was steaming from the energy wave.

"Someone, call an ambulance! Quick!"

* * *

_This bites. _

"I don't think you're going to be able to keep this up anymore, Wallace."

"Shut up!" Dr. Destiny laughed.

"You didn't even try on that one." Flash ignored him and focused on the task at hand.

_Okay, based off of what Doc said, I can't rely on J'onn. Stalling is working fine; I'll keep this up as long as I can. But if it gets too close..._Flash's eyes flickered back to the scepter that Destiny left leaning on the wall. _Okay, back to the original plan of getting that away from him. First part, can I move?_ Flexing his index finger, he found it easier than expected. _I guess Dee's not thinking of restraining me right now. So I just have to move really fast to get it. That'll be a last resort though, cause if it fails...it'll cut straight to _**_that_**_._

"You're being awfully quiet. Are you thinking, Flash? Don't let your mind wander far; it's too little to be out alone."

_And they say I'm annoying._

"At least I have a pretty face. That's more than you can say."

* * *

"Wally? Oh god, Wally? Please, answer."

Everything reverberated with a strange quality in the room around him; the blur and fog eventually cleared and he saw that he was in a hospital room.

So, at least he didn't die. That's good.

He turned his head and saw the source of the voice from earlier, his Uncle Barry. He saw the man release a heavy sigh when Wally looked at him.

"Thank God."

Wally, too tired to speak right now, just observed the crisp white walls. His uncle Barry was sitting completely still, staring at him. Like he was waiting for him to do something. Usually at this point his uncle would be asking him drilling him right now, so Wally was pretty perplexed. Bored, he looked around and saw a clock in the corner of the room.

The clock. It was warped. The ticks were farther apart than usual. It was moving...

Moving too slow.

"OhmygodIdidit!" Wally shot up out of his bed and his body began to vibrate uncontrollably. Then, Wally realized that Barry was sitting in the middle of the room, the formerly passive face was now a full-blown glare.

"Oops." Wally tried to slow down his speaking. It felt weird speaking at such a deliberately slow pace. "I can explain Uncle Barry."

"Oh yea, you will, but stand up first." Wally was confused, but needed to try and hide what had happened to him and moved at an annoyingly slow pace. He was sure there was a way to turn off his high-speed perception or something, but he had no clue how to do that yet. "Now, race me to the wall. If I win, I'm going to ban you from seeing the Flash for a three months."

"What?!" He couldn't wait that long. Standing for two minutes felt like a day at the pace he was moving. Wally had to win; he had to see the Flash after what happened. He could be his sidekick! "I was just shocked by a generator, and you want me to run."

Barry kept glaring at him. Wally gulped, but didn't stop trying to talk his way out of it.

"Plus, all I'm wearing is a hospital gown! These things are like paper! I don't wanna run virtually but naked."

"I'm going to count to three," Barry started with a tone similar to Batman's, "and then I'm going to start running to the wall. Whether you decide to run or not is up to you, but then you'll know the outcome." His uncle looked serious, so Wally didn't question it and lined up next to him.

"1...2...3."

Wally was trying to hold back, but when he saw Barry shoot ahead of him, he actually felt like he was pushing himself to try and even keep up with him. In a couple seconds, or what felt like it, Wally touched the wall a jiffy (A/N: Which is an actual unit of time guys...just a fun fact haha) after his Uncle did. Wally was panting, hunched over and holding his stomach, all while his uncle was glaring at him even worse than before.

"How...what...man, I'm hungry." Barry's suspicions were confirmed.

"You tried to recreate the Flash's experiment?! Do you understand what could have happened?! How dangerous that was?!" Wally had never seen his Uncle look so angry before, and he was currently shocked into silence with his rant.

"Wally, I couldn't bear to lose you...I can't believe this. I can't...Don't ever do this to me again." Wally felt horribly guilty. He realized how selfish his actions were, and that trying to achieve his childhood dream could have made him lose the awesome life he already had.

"Uncle Barry, I'm sorry. I just wanted so bad to be the Flash. I remember even told Grammy I wanted to be the Flash when I grew up." Barry had to admit, that did warm his heart a little.

"Wally, you are important to your Aunt and I and many other people. Next time you think about doing something like this, think of us and how we would feel first."

"Okay. I promise I will, I thought that-" then it clicked. "Hey, wait a second! How did you beat me to the wall?!" Barry looked flustered, his anger momentarily forgotten.

"Uhhh, what do you mean, I just ran and-"

"I can not believe you! You're the Flash?!"

"What are you talking about Wally? That's crazy I-" Wally glared at him. He wasn't dropping this.

"Catch me if you can!" He was about to zip out of room, but was cut off by his Uncle. After a wild goose chase in the tightly enclosed area, Wally was finally placed in a headlock by Barry. The room was in shambles, but neither noticed as Wally glared up at his Uncle's face from his armpit.

"Okay, okay. So. Ahem, I'm Flash, the fastest man alive." Wally grinned.

"I dunno, maybe."

"What?"

"I'm pretty fast, too."

"Still beat you to the wall, kid." Wally's mood soured.

"Whatever. Fastest boy alive. Now on to business, as your sidekick, I-"

"Woah woah woah woah, who said anything about sidekick?" Barry did not like this idea. He didn't want his kid anywhere near danger, especially superhuman danger.

"It's either that, or I become my own superhero."

"Why don't you just become an amazing athlete."

"No. You know that won't work. So, it's either sidekick or I go solo."

He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Shouldn't he be the one negotiating terms? Forcing him to do what he wanted, though he probably could, would take too much time and energy. Barry sighed. He hated teenagers.

"Fine. Here." He threw Wally a flash ring. "It has a costume in it. If you pull the lever, it'll come out. Don't do it now." Barry ran his hand through his hair. "And listen, if you're going to be my sidekick, it's going to be a 'my way or the highway' kind of thing, got it? Meaning you listen to me and don't question what I say." Wally nodded. "Okay. Let's check you out of hospital before they decide to run tests to figure out how you healed so fast."

"Yes! Today is a great day."

The pair walked through the hall as they left the Wally's room. Barry had his hand on Wally's shoulder; the two were the perfect picture of a father and son.

"By the way, you're grounded for a month."

"...Bummer."

* * *

**So, what you guys think? **

**REVIEW! **

**and tell me! **


	7. Hit the Ground Running

**Okay guys, I know. SUCH A SHORT CHAPTER! Sorry! I'm so busy, it's crazy. It's my first week of college and I'm rushing for a sorority, which is really tiring. I'm going to try and get a chapter up once a week, but no promises! **

**I really want to thank everyone who reviewed! Even if it was just one word! ;) It definitely warms my heart.**

**Honestly guys, keep it up I'm going to need the morale/motivation to keep me ALIVE. Haha, so please enjoy this short chapter! I'M SO SORRY!**

* * *

Shayera was amazed at what just happened, as well as the rest of the league. Wally had, through sheer willpower and an odd combination of genius and stupidity, created his own superpowers. He made himself a metahuman.

"I am going to hit Wally so hard when we get out of this."

"If we get out of this," Green Lantern tried to look around, but all he saw was a repeated scene of Wally in the hospital. Superman, ever the positive one, turned to the team.

"We will get out of this. Flash has already figured out how to counter what Dr. Destiny is doing, it wont be long until he actually gets us out."

"Maybe. Countering Dee's actions could be preoccupying his thoughts."

"Bruce, would it kill you if-" the boy scout clutched the sides of his head in surprise, but it was over before he could react to the odd sensation. "What was that?"

"What'd you feel?"

"Like someone touched my head. It just...tickled."

"J'onn must have found us," Wonder Woman interjected, "it shouldn't take us long to get out of here."

"I know you and Batman are new to this dream escape act, but it wasn't so easy last time. And not too mention what Destiny's pulled off is a whole lot different from before." John rubbed his head. It felt like he had just been touched too. Regardless of what he said, the renewed hope was undeniable, and each member clung onto it.

* * *

"What is the dilemma?" Dr. Fate lowered himself next to J'onn, who had been trying to enter the founder's mind for the last ten minutes. Every time, he was blocked by his worst fear and weakness: fire. The martian stood up to see numerous thankful citizens, who all followed their advice and cleared the area.

"Something is blocking me and I can not get past it. It is not their own consciousness that manifests it. We will have to load them onto the javelin and stabilize them in the watchtower." Fate nodded, feeling a sense of urgency, and chanted a spell. His words reverberated throughout the street, echoing off the towers of Metropolis as a bright light surrounded each founder, and began to load them into the javelin.

J'onn watched Dr. Fate as he noticed something odd about a particular founder.

Did Flash lose weight?

He didn't have much time to contemplate his observation when the familiar static of the comm link sounded in his ear.

_"How's it going down there?"_

"Fine," J'onn replied, his hand held to his ear, "the citizens were freed fairly easily. Dr. Fate said the spell on them was simple, only tiring to perform it on such a large scale."

_"And the others?"_

"They seemed to have had complications. They are not frozen, but I cannot access their mind. Someone has incapacitated them."

Mr. Terrific sat in the watchtower contemplating this, staring at the newly saved Metropolis, bustling with movement. He stared at the screen, trying to figure out why a villain would bother with freezing the city if it was so easy to release anyway.

_"Man, we walked right into it."_

"I don't follow you, Mr. Terrific."

_"We walked right into their trap."_

J'onn scowled. The situation was getting worse by the second.

* * *

Wally was now standing in the middle of an deserted field in a mini-flash outfit. His mentor stood across from him.

"Can I get my own outfit?"

"What's wrong with mine?" Wally scratched the back of his head and resisted the urge to rip off his cowl.

"It's itchy! My hair is sticking to my head. And my eyes tear up from the wind. How can you run with them uncovered? And this is a little too much red between the two of us. If I'm going to pick up any girls, they have to be able to tell us apart. Plus-"

"Okay!" Barry was rubbing his temples. So this is what Batman felt like. "We'll design a new suit when we get home."

"What's my superhero name?"

"Really? You have to do this right now?"

"Yea! I need to know what persona I'm going for. Maybe Light-speed, Impulse, Quick Feet, Hermes... " Barry contemplated running away and leaving Wally in the middle of nowhere, but then he knew he'd be sleeping on the couch for a month. His Uncle decided to try and help.

"I don't know, Speedy."

"No way! That's too obvious."

"You kind of look like one. Something about the red hair..." Wally rolled his eyes.

"I got it! Boy Flash! You know, cause they call Robin 'Boy Wonder?'"

"We're not copying them, kid."

"Ok...Hey, that's it! You always call me kid, so why not put it in my name. How about Kid Speed?"

"I think Kid Flash sounds better." Barry smiled. He liked the sound of that.

"Fine. Whatever. I just feel like such a biter when I do that." Wally pretended that he didn't like it, but he was actually more than happy to share a name with what he considered was the greatest hero of all time.

"Get over it. Now do you want to learn this or not?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

Barry pointed to a tree far in the distance, only a black speck on the horizon.

"Run there as fast as you can. Don't hold back."

"Got it," Wally turned to Barry with a cheesy smile, "I'll be back in a flash."

A sudden gust of wind was the only indication that his nephew had left. Repressing a remark, Barry observed his protege as he ran to the tree in back over the course of five seconds.

"Huh," he said as he saw Wally panting in front of him, "why are you so tired?"

"I'm not tired, I'm hungry!"

"You need to eat more now, especially since you're also a growing kid." Barry thought about this. A teenager. A teenage boy. A teenage boy with a hyper-metabolism. "Man, how am I going to feed you...Anyway! I'm pretty sure you run a few mph shy of the speed of sound."

"Is that...good?"

"Well, I can run over the speed of sound. I produce a sonic boom whenever I get up to those speeds. Theoretically, you should be able to too. How did you feel during your run?"

"Fine. But then I felt like I hit a wall." Barry's eye brows rose. That was new. Even when Barry hit his top speeds, he still felt like if he wanted to, he could go even faster. It was liberating, like there were no boundaries. There was something more going on with this, but he decided to leave it alone for now. No need to scare the kid before he even starts.

"Maybe that's your limit. Okay, now that I know your average speed, next important thing you have to learn: how to slow down." Wally didn't bother to hide his confusion and frustration; his face said it all. "Take it from me, kid. It hones your concentration and control. The reason you see everything moving so slow around you right now is because your molecules are vibrating at high speeds, invisible to the naked eye. You have to focus on those molecules, and take their speed away. This is basically how you access and store your powers."

Wally listened carefully before closing his eyes and focusing his energy. He felt his muscles, then his organs, his cells, his molecules...there. He felt each piece of his existence excited, moving uncontrollably in their very limited space, and through a few deep breaths, made them all return to their normal pace.

"Pretty good. Eventually you'll be able to do it without thinking."

Throughout the day, Flash taught all the tricks he knew to his young sidekick, who learned them eagerly and with intense vigor. From learning to create tornadoes with his arms, to just decelerating before entering a room so that papers don't fly everywhere, Wally was honing his skills and beginning to control his speed. Wally's dream had come true, and there was no way he would let it go to waste.

A couple days later, Uncle Barry came home with a package in his arms. He ran over to Wally, who was using his high speed to clean his room.

"Delivery." Wally looked up and saw his Uncle. Grammy's grin broke out across his face.

"Is it..."

"Yep."

"Sweet!" Wally opened the packaged, only to be faced with a huge red lightning bolt surrounded by a yellow material. He pulled out the suit, and speed changed into his new costume. Wally's red hair showed through yellow face mask, and a pair of goggles sat on top of his forehead. The lightening bolt, earpieces and bottom half of his suit were all a deep red, like his Uncle's. Wally marveled his appearance in the mirror.

"So cool! If this doesn't attract the ladies, I don't know what will." Barry rolled his eyes at his nephew's actions.

"Wanna put it to the test?" Wally's eyes widened.

"You don't mean..."

"Yep, we're going on patrol today." Barry used his ring and speed changed into his own suit.

"I hear Captain Cold is terrorizing the city bank." Wally could not stop the crazy grin on his face. Barry had never seen the kid so excited.

"Last one there is a Bat!"

* * *

"It's over, Flash. Look at you, you're shaking! You're about to fold."

_Ugh. Hate to say it, but he's right. I'm running on fumes, and I can't focus any longer. I have to forget the pain. Forget the hunger. Forget the bad guy, and just do this! _

It was slipping; he could feel it. The scene was leaving him slowly like water running through his fingers.

_I know what memory Doc is trying to show next. His spell only shows bad memories, but it's obviously not showing all of them. He's skipping some. The dude's picking and choosing from the spell. Maybe if I pick a memory that's still bad, the spell will play it for me, but I won't need to focus on it. _

"Honestly, Flash. I'm tired of waiting, will you please just give up?"

_Worth a shot. _

Flash thought of the initial memory and the view changed to the precision that only Doctor Destiny's thoughts had previously contained. The super villain's laughter echoed in the small room.

"I have to admit, I didn't think you would try that. Not that I'm complaining. You really are trying to avoid this, aren't you?"

"Duh."

"Technically," the Doctor was looking through the glass screen, a crazy smile on his face, "the spell caster can make it so that the spell responds only to them. But I don't think I'll change this yet, I want to watch this."

Flash thought about this.

"You're bluffing. You didn't cast this spell. You're just channeling this mumbo-jumbo, but you can't control it." John Dee was surprised, but mostly angry. His fury silently seethed behind his skull eyes. This baboon should not have been able to figure that out. He gripped his scepter tighter.

"I never realized you were so selfish Flash, you're throwing Batman under the bus for this."

Flash didn't respond because he knew this was true. Knowing that this memory would cause Batman a lot of misery, he still chose it because it wasn't as bad as the one Dee was thinking of. Besides, the dark knight could handle it.

_Okay. After this one's done, I'll have to try and grab the doctor's magic toy. I don't have enough juice left in me to try for more._

* * *

**One more time: I'M SORRY!**

**But please, any opinions, comments, criticisms even are welcome. Even if it's just one word sooooo...**

**R**

**E**

**V**

**I**

**E**

**W**

**3 **


	8. In the Mind

**Oh** **man guys, college is hard. It's like...I dunno, being busy all the time, pretty crazy. I'm rushing for sororities right now, which I must say is an experience unlike any other...that could be taken as good or bad. It's much like speed dating on steroids. Oh god, I freak out thinking about it. **

** Anyway, thanks for all the reviews! I read every single one of them, and I decided to respond to them. I like the idea of talking to you guys about the story, so here!**

**_AidenSurvival_****: **Do the good guys make it out okay? Hmmmmm...I'm debating on it, but you're probably right. ;)

**_ThePurpleSuperCow_****: **Haha, don't worry! Wally shall not fade away into nothing! He will survive, maybe not in one whole piece but...and Bats was just the easiest one to have a dark side; gotta admit, Superman doesn't have too many secrets. Probably not going to go through each one, though a tempting thought; remember, Wally is going to try and make his move after this memory!

**_CheshireCatGrin3421:_**Ya know, girl, I try. (That's kinda awk if you're not a girl, so ignore.) Haha, well here is the update! The last chapter was way to short. This story is honestly the only thing I want to work on, but man, college. It's holding me back, haha.

**_pottyandweezlbe89_****:** Yay! I'm glad this is your new addiction, haha. I will continue to try my best to nurture it. **I'm actually thinking of including side memories at the end of each chapter, ones that weren't included in the main plot.** Whaddaya think?

**_Addicted Fool_****: ***looks up to the other review* I would have thought you were the addicted one, haha! I kid, but thank you for the sweet review! Love reading those; you have so much faith in me! 3

**_balletangel19_****: **That's right! We gotta root for Wally; it's really all up to him. It might not even be a matter of Fate and J'onn breaking the spell, but rather if they can make it in time before...Wally's worst memory. DUN DUN DUNNNN.

**_Darnk Inu Fan_****:** Oh yea, it there's a will there's a way! Anyway, all Green Lanterns and Speedsters have been good friends, so maybe it rubbed off on them. And yep, thinking does burn calories, especially if you're thinking on super speed! So Flash's body is quite under stress right now.

**_ProcrastinatorsUniteTomorrow _****: **Dude, I love your username! Straight up laughed when I read it. And you're right, I remembered I hated that when I read stories too. Thanks for reminding me! Love the honesty. I'll hold back I swear. I really don't wanna be annoying, but not gonna lie, kinda desperate for reviews haha.

**_Breeze-n-Shadow_:** One Word Response: Thanks! :) 3

_**Faywe**_**: **Yay! I'm so glad you liked it enough to review! Much love! I'll try and keep the story up to your standards. I love Wally, too. That's why I wrote this and started the young justice Fic! Haha!

**_Tough Chick_: **Haha, You're awesome! Based on your username, I love it!

**_Tigress2929_: **Wonder no more! Here you get to see part of the memory, maybe you'll figure out what happens next.

I Am Invisible: Well, hello! I love it when there are anonymous reviews. Yay! I'm so glad you enjoy my story! Hmmmm you have a very good intuition, trust your gut my friend! You shall see...

Bolt: Yes! Yes, here it is! MORE! You ask, and you shall receive.

_**TealEyedBeing**_**: **LOL. Love the last line! And I'll do my best to feed your addiction ;). I said this in the other guy's addict comment, but I'll reiterate it. I wanna include side-memorys that weren't put in the main plot. Yay or nay?

_**Black-Cl0thed-Angel**_**: **Glad you liked it! Read on, my friend, read on.

_**Harte-Lore**_**:** Welcome! Haha, thank you so much, I was trying to make sure that, if anything, the characterization is good. Thanks for the positive feedback! You know, if you guess, I think that you can figure out what the horrible memory is.

**_Izzy Jizzy_: **Yay! Yep, I don't think his memory is included in any part of the show, took some artistic license, but if you guess you might get it!

**Dunno if you guys read what I wrote in pottyandweezlbe89's response, but if guys think that's a good idea, feel free to let me know and I'll do it. **

**And I just realized I could probably instant message all of you this and it would be good, but I already wrote this out so IT'S STAYING. Anyways, on to the story!**

* * *

The league felt the emotional connection between them and Wally restored, and they all looked around with grave faces. They knew their respite couldn't last forever.

Rolling golden hills flooded their vision, and the occasional cornfield popped in their vision before fading back to the sea of yellow. It was peaceful, quiet, and the only thing that seemed to disturbed the small area was the occasional pick-up truck.

That was until two speedsters ripped through the scene.

Barry and Wally were running cross-country, identical blurs of red and yellow. Flash turned to see his student trying to keep pace with him. However, Kid Flash was breathing heavily, sweating and thrusting his arms in a more exaggerated motion than necessary. All the signs of exhaustion. Knowing that Wally would never admit to his shortcomings, he held up his hand to sign Wally to stop.

"Break." Wally stopped and had to keep himself from falling into the tall country grass. An odd feeling of inadequacy pooled in his stomach. "Here, kid, have some water." After gulping down a couple quarts of water, Kid Flash stood and began to stretch.

"It's not that I'm tired," for some reason he felt a need to explain himself, "I think it's dehydration." Barry sat down and unwrapped the sandwiches he had packed for the trip; he gave three to Wally and took an equal amount for himself.

"Have a snack. And you're probably right, I think you're metabolism is even faster than mine."

Grabbing the sandwich, Wally stuffed his face with no regard to who was watching him eat. Barry cringed, manners were never really Wally's strong suit. Then again, if Wally ever ate like a civilized person it would seem out of place; the kid was just so honest and genuine in his emotions, he didn't bind himself to social normalcies. Didn't make it any less disgusting though.

"I think I lost my appetite."

"Ha ha, funny. So," Wally gulped, finished with his sandwiches, "why are we heading to Gotham again? You're always making fun of Batman."

"Yea, I respect the man though, even if he's a little too serious. Anyway, Batman suspects Mirror Master might be there, so he's asking us to check it out and figure what he's doing."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Wally, remember," Barry picked off a piece of his sandwich, "Gotham villains are no joke. They don't have boundaries like the ones in Central."

"Yea, yea. I'd jump off the deep end too if Bats was constantly chasing me down."

Wally saw a cute, blonde farmer girl in the distance, staring at them. She had a bucket in her hand and a cow next to her. When she saw the oddly dressed pair in the plains, she stopped her chores and had been debating how to react. Seeing an opportunity for some harmless flirting, Wally turned to his uncle.

"Don't worry, Flash, I'll handle this one." Wally winked and ran over to the girl about his age, who was surprised to see him so close to her suddenly. Wally pointed to the bucket in her hands and leaned on the cow next to them.

"So, I take it you're good with your hands..."

That was when Barry decided to stop listening. He sat down and contemplated the actions of his new sidekick. The 15 year-old kid was definitely helpful in missions, and his honest desire to do good was refreshing and inspiring. But he didn't know why he was so incapacitated by his powers, why he had a limit. Not only that, but the way Wally had been acting...

Who Barry Allen was well-defined before he became the Flash. Barry Allen was a dedicated forensic scientist, nice, but so focused on his work he often found any importance in little else. Some people called him boring. But the Flash, Flash was laid-back, a chatter, a people's person. Like many other heroes, he had made sure that at all times he would keep his dual-identity's separate, that he would never forget who Barry Allen was even if he was the Flash. Yet the more he looked at Wally, the more he realized that his sidekick had never made this distinction. His superhero mask only liberated his personality even more. Amplified it, but there was no real difference. In fact, his identity was more Kid Flash than Wally West, and that concerned him. He wasn't sure if Bruce had the same problem with Dick, but he figured that it wouldn't hurt to ask him.

"Kid," Wally looked away from the beautiful girl and back at his uncle, "time to head out." Kid Flash nodded, took a couple steps back and waved goodbye.

"Gotta run."

The two red and yellow blurs phased away, leaving the young girl and her cow gaping at a now empty space.

* * *

The javelin landed in the airstrip of the Watchtower, six stretchers waiting to bring the founders to the medical wing. J'onn, while in the ship, had been able to look closer at Flash's body and saw that he did in fact lose weight, too much weight. As soon as the ship door opened J'onn flew out with Flash in his arms; placing him on the first stretcher, he turned to the worker who was holding the wheeled bed in place.

"Get him to the medical wing as quickly as possible. Tell the doctors I believe his accelerated metabolism has caused his body to start feeding off himself." The worker nodded and did as he was told. He wheeled away the Flash's body, running down the hall with extra care.

J'onn ignored the stares of the other leaguers as he and Dr. Fate used there powers to materialize to the top floor. Discretion would probably be the best option right now; he did not want an outbreak of chaos because all the founders are incapacitated. Phasing back into solid states, the two faced Mr. Terrific.

"Glad to see you both intact," Terrific rotated between the computers, watching each screen and all missions on board at the moment. "As you know, I'm pretty sure that the frozen Metropolis was an ambush for the founders. We need to figure out what or who is behind this, but most importantly how to cure the founders."

Dr. Fate stepped forward.

"If I may interject, I sensed a magical resonance coming from each of them, with the strongest concentration in the Flash," Dr. Fate turned to J'onn. "There was a much greater concentration in them than in the civilians. You said you were mentally blocked from their minds. If you describe it to me, I may be able to conjure a counter spell, allowing both of us access past the barrier."

Mr. Terrific nodded to J'onn.

"This only confirms the theory that Metropolis was all a set up. Now the question is, why. But you and Fate should get on that. I'll do damage control from here, head to the medical wing." After speaking the sound of the electric doors brought all their attention to the newcomer. Green Arrow walked in looking disgruntled and angry.

"Anyone want to tell me what in blazes is going on around here?" He waved his arm toward the door, motioning to something behind it. "I was just walking around when I heard six out of seven founders are down and out. Care to tell us little leaguers what is going on?"

"J'onn, Fate," Mr. Terrific began, "go ahead. I'm going to address the rest of the league in a meeting."

"Sounds fine." J'onn and Fate used their fastest method of transportation, phasing through solid objects and traveling through inter-dimensional portals, and headed towards the medical wing.

* * *

Robin sat next to a younger Batman, perhaps by five or six years, perched on the top of a tall building. He was staring over the edge on patrol, waiting to see a red blur.

The other Batman, the one not in the vision, remembered this memory immediately. He felt the others look to him in question, but he ignored those gazes and kept his eyes focused on the memory ahead. This mission was one of the few that he would like to forget; it wasn't horrible, but not exactly pleasant. He wondered why Dee would choose something so...insignificant compared to other things.

The 13 year-old Robin had a pout on his face; he was glaring at Batman more than he was watching the streets of Gotham.

"Why the play-date again? We could do this on our own."

"It's not a play-date. They have dealt with Mirror Master before, and they'll know how to stop him again."

Robin frowned at Batman.

"But you always say how annoying speedsters are-" suddenly a violent wind rushed over the top of the building. Flipping Robin's cape so that it now covered his head. Somehow, Batman's cape had miraculously stayed down, and his signature glare was etched onto his face.

"Hey, Batman." Barry was smirking at Bruce, who continued to glare at him. "Geez, you find me annoying? Your words wound me." Not really, Barry purposefully tried to annoy Batman whenever he could, so he took it as a compliment that he succeeded.

Robin finally made it out from under his cape, slightly embarrassed; he looked up too see a bright yellow, red-headed kid grinning at him.

"Dude, you're Robin right? Sweet! You were my idol before I became a superhero! I mean, that was only a couple weeks after your debut, but still." Robin took in the kids grin and genuine attitude. He wasn't so bad. It would be nice talking to someone who wasn't as closed and secretive as his mentor. Plus, flattery was much appreciated since Batman hardly ever acknowledged him.

"So you have super-speed? That's pretty useful." Wally shrugged and crossed his arms.

"Well, ya know, fastest boy alive." Hand on hip, one thumb on his chest, his body language oozed with confidence. Though he was very convincing on the outside, the league felt the contradiction in his emotions. And at that moment, Wally hated the fact that he was the fastest boy alive, that he was no where near his mentor's level. He was worried he could never live up to being the fastest man alive.

"Must be useful when you're getting to school, huh?"

"You know it! I-"

"Robin, Kid Flash." The two looked over to their mentors, who were waiting on the edge of the building patiently. Wally leaned over to Robin.

"I hear Bats is a real stick in the mud."

"You have no idea."

They headed over and gave their full attention to them. Once the Bat signal lit in the air, the four of them headed to the building radiating the light. Gordon was waiting on the roof, and was surprised to see two brightly colored heroes join the dark knight and his sidekick.

"To who do I owe the pleasure?" Kid Flash zipped right in front of him.

"I'm Kid Flash, and that guy back there is Flash. We're here to save you from this killjoy," Wally motioned to Batman, who was glaring at his informality. Gordon laughed at the joke; he was similar to Robin in his mischievous demeanor and fun-loving grin.

"What do you have for us?" Clearing his throat, Gordon prepared his business tone for Gotham's hero.

"Right. So another bank robbery and another miraculous get away. It was the Joker's clowns, but we're not quite sure how they're pulling it off. We did what you asked and scanned for a mirror in the room they were blockaded in," Gordon scratched his head, like he didn't see the relevance in it. "Um, there was one."

"It's Mirror Master for sure," Barry nodded his head, "he pulls this trick back at Central all the time. Are there any banks left in Gotham he hasn't hit?"

"One, actually. The one on East side. It holds money for corporations like Wayne Enterprises." Robin smirked at the information.

"Well, what do you know."

"Sounds like the place to be," Barry turned to Gordon, "thanks for the info. East side bank for corporations is a pretty impressive place. So we head down there and-"

Barry was talking to empty space. The Bats were gone, presumably already on their way. Gordon smirked at the two speedster's exasperation.

"I hate it when he does that." A huge gust of wind and the silence that followed indicated that everyone had left. Once the coast was clear, Gordon's smile changed into a crooked sneer, and he pulled his coat back to reach for his walkie-talkie. Using his left-hand, he hit the button to turn on the communication device.

"They're on their way."

* * *

**Don't know if you guys hate big paragraphs, but I felt like I had to do some character analysis here. It adds up to the climax of the story, for sure. I bet you guys probably know what that is, but hey if you don't see it coming, you'll be in for quite the shock. **

**If you noticed the chapters are getting shorter, I'm sorry! I just don't have the same time I used too, so I'm trying to keep my updates pretty frequent and short, rather than really long and...long. Haha, okay! **

**So let me know if you like the idea I posted in my little intro author's note, and I'll fasho do it! Much love and thanks!**


	9. Breaking and Healing

**Ugh. Guys. I hate homework haha. I hate that it's not mandatory too, because now I never do any. Haha, whatever. First world problems. Thanks for all the lovely reviews guys! So I got mostly 'Yay's to me giving extra memories as little bonuses, so I'll probably start next chapter. **

**This story is getting harder to write, I just want to skip to the climax! Haha, the good part is the most fun to write. It also gets harder because now there are all these little details to consider. Bleh, details.**

**Anyway, read on my friends, read on. **

* * *

"So, where's the party?" Kid Flash and Robin, along with their mentors, were standing outside the Official Gotham Bank waiting for some action. No one responded to his question, and he went back to being anxious and fidgety. The four had already removed all mirrors from the inside of building, and laid in wait for the criminals. Robin, like Kid Flash, was also eager to fight, but he attempted to hide it better than his counterpart. The quiet was almost unsettling.

Then something moved in the back alley. Robin followed it with his eyes as a young child emerged. The boy was crying hysterically and could not have been more than 8 years old. Zipping over, Flash immediately tried to comfort the little boy.

"Hey kid, what's wrong? You lose something?" He nodded, blubbering intensely.

"M-m-ma-my m-mom," huge sniffle, "We were by the store, and a bunch of clowns came at us and she told, told me to r-run. They had g-guh-g-GUNS!" The kid then proceeded wailing at the tops of his lungs. Wally stiffened; his mentor passed it off, assuming it was because he was uncomfortable around the young kid. But the leaguers felt his raw fear, the echo of his past resurfacing beneath his skin.

"Could be our guys," Barry said, turning to Batman.

"Unlikely, but we should investigate."

"I'll go." Barry was ready to run before Batman put a hand on his shoulder.

"I said 'we.' You don't know this town well enough for you to go solo right now."

"Fine." Flash crouched down to the young boy, his hand on his shoulder. "Hey, what's your name?"

"D-D-David."

"David? That's a strong name. Now David, I want you to stay with these two heroes here, okay? While me and this big guy are going to save your mom, sound good?" The young boy stopped crying and listened to the scarlet speedster. Barry turned to Batman and nodded at him; the two looked back to their students. Robin looked exasperated about being left behind from the action, and Wally was staring off to some point in the distance.

"Keep guard," Robin was about to protest, but Batman glared at him, "got it?" A heavy sigh escaped boy wonder's lips.

"Yea, yea. Whatever." In no more than a second, the pair disappeared. Leaving a crying boy and a deserted building to the young duo.

"KF, what's the big deal?" Wally shook his head, as if to snap him out of something.

"What?"

"Your okay with just being stuck here on babysitting duty while they get all the action? You should have backed me up!"

"Dude, I-" Wally eyes, suddenly drooped, his limbs losing their usual continual energy, "I-...I'm tired." With fascination, Wally watched the floor suddenly meet his face. He turned and saw Robin right next to him, also on the ground, and the young child holding a gas can clutched in his miniature hand.

Slowly, the world faded to black.

* * *

"The spell you have described is complicated," Dr. Fate and J'onn stood outside the medical department. Doctors whizzed by into the closed doors, a steady, but fast beeping ringing past them. "It had to be completed in layers. One layer as a barrier, another to simulate confusion, and also one to manifest fear." Dr. Fate contemplated this while J'onn waited for his expert opinion. "That is powerful. We can assume that there is yet another spell that the founder's experience within their mind. No matter who the spell caster maybe, they would need a medium."

"A medium?" Dr. Fate nodded.

"To channel the magical prowess. I can create an incantation to counter this, yet it would only subside their power momentarily, until we disconnect them from their medium. I must sequester myself to contemplate this new spell." Dr. Fate began to move away. "J'onn, prepare yourself mentally. This will be a taxing expenditure."

J'onn watched as Fate moved away to a more secluded area in the Watchtower. He turned to look at the entrance to the medical wing, where a short, stubby doctor just appeared.

"Um, excuse me, uh, sir-"

"J'onnz is fine." The doctor was a bit perturbed at the fact he was talking to an alien, and not just any but also one of the founders, but he tried to keep his professionalism intact.

"Right. J'onnz. We have stabilized the Flash."

"May I see him?" The doctor nodded and led him through the doors. Beeping, faster than a regular humans, rung throughout the room. Flash was still in costume, but numerous IVs were hooked into his arm, and a member of the staff was constantly there to replenish the quickly emptying bags.

"I knew his metabolism is fast, but this is ridiculous," The doctor blushed when he realized what he said, "uh, I mean, not in a bad way, but-"

"No," The martian inspected the vital readings, staring at the numbers on the machine, "this is too fast, even for him. He must be expending enormous amounts of energy. But why?"

J'onn looked to the other members and found them sound asleep, a blank slate in their expressions. Flash, however, was in obvious pain; it radiated from his mind, piercing through the mental barrier.

He wasn't sure how much time he had left.

* * *

Batman should have known better than to leave the two boys alone. Looking back on it, he realized what an amateur mistake it was. He was kicking himself mentally once he realized that the information from the young boy had been false, and that now their sidekicks were missing from their post.

"Batman, how could we do this?" Barry was stressing out, rubbing his red-headed uniform and pacing at high-speeds. Bruce felt the same, in fact worse. He was guilty that he didn't stay behind with them; Barry could have done it himself. "How are we going to find them?" Silence was the only answer. Batman was an accomplished detective, and having no trace left at a scene was virtually impossible. But...where did the glass shards come from?

"I can help you." Flash turned around. The voice was painfully familiar. Reflecting off a piece of glass in the corner of the street, Mirror Master shown through the dirty surface.

"Mirror Master, I swear I'll-"

"Ah ah," Mirror Master shook his head, suddenly the image warped to show the two sidekicks chained to a wall. Overall unharmed, but unconscious and limp. "No threats yet. You don't want your precious students to be stuck in the mirror dimension, do you? Or...worse." For once Barry had nothing to say.

"What do you want."

Turning to the dark knight, he had to admit a streak of fear swept through him.

"Nothing, really. Just come to the abandoned factory on mission district."

"How do we know this isn't some trap?"

"Flash, I can guarantee you that this is a trap. What else would it be?" Barry hated this guy, he was a definite wise-ass. "You better hurry, it'll only be a moment before the Joker has his fun." Though Barry and Batman were surprised, they didn't show it. Why were those two working together?

"A moment's all I need."

With that, Flash and Batman rushed to Mission district, shattering the piece of glass as it fell on the concrete.

Mirror Master remerged from his mirror back to the factory he had cited. Beyond the door, the two sidekicks lay in wait.

The background blurred until it was nothing but a dark and dank space. Wally's eyes shot open, and he awoke with his usual fast-paced gusto. He was greeted by nothing but the empty and quiet. Turning to the side, he saw Robin still out cold and bound by chains. Trying to move his arms and legs, he realized he was bound too.

"Rob. Rob, Pssstttt. Hey, Boy wonder." A groggy groan was all that answered him initially. Then, slowly, the dark colored hair moved until Robin's face was visible. The rest of his body still in a relaxed position.

"KF? What happened?" Wally looked around.

"Not sure. But I'm starting to worry a little. What about you?" Kid Flash was flexing his arms and legs, making sure they were ready to use at any moment. The room they were in was plain; no windows, no furniture, no light but a candle and endless brick walls around them. Robin tried to use his detective skills to figure out what was going on, but found he couldn't move his body.

"KF, I can't move!" Wally turned to Robin.

"Probably the gas still has an effect on you. I burned it off already." Wally thought back to what had happened moments before they passed out, trying to understand what had happened. "That little snot-nosed kid carried us here?"

"That's unlikely. There's a bigger plot to all this, but..." The pair looked around the room for any hints, but they were coming up with blanks. "This is a disaster. Heavy on the 'dis'." (A/N: Young justice anyone? ;])

"So, got anything in that handy-dandy belt of yours?"

"How would I know? I can barely move my head. Can't you vibrate through these chains?" Wally looked away.

"I tried once and ended up with a broken nose," under his breath, he muttered, "I'm not fast enough." Robin heard his comment, but wasn't sure if he was supposed too. He decided to opt for silence. The kid who was always acting so arrogant actually had a soft side.

Suddenly, the door hidden by a corner in the room, exploded open. A dark figure loomed in the bright hallway.

"Well, well kids," in his own insane glory, the Joker stepped towards the two young heroes. A maniacal grin etched on his pale face and a crowbar in hand. Wally knew what this man was capable of. Barry had told him that of all the people in Gotham, the one villain that you do not want to meet was the Joker. A man who scared all the villains, who intimidated even Batman, who had no limits or moral obligations. Fear turned his blood to ice. "Boy blunder and..." Joker turned to Wally.

"I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting before."

"Pleasure's all yours." The joker let out a hysterical laugh.

"Finally, someone with a sense of humor. Better than Bat-guano at least." The Joker moved the crowbar he held behind his back until it was in full view of the two heroes. "Now, here's the dilemma. I have only one of me, and two of you, and a very short amount of time to kill you," the crowbar swung from face to face between the two heroes, "now who goes first?"

Robin and Wally stared anxiously back at the mad clown. Joker sneered.

"No volunteers? I guess I should start with the old favorite." Panic entered each of the founder's bodies. Wally didn't want another person who depended on him dead, another person falling victim while he watched. The Joker was steadily approaching the younger boy. So he turned to his only weapon: his big mouth.

"Hey, Tranny!" That stopped the Joker in mid-step. An awkward silence ensued. "Aren't you supposed to serve the guest first?"

Wally's panic turned to horror as soon as the Joker turned to face him. He had never seen the Joker so furious, granted he hasn't seen him much before, but either way it sent shivers through his body.

"Why, how rude of me. Since you're so anxious," The crowbar-hand swung down and connected with Wally's shin.

The pain hit each of the members, it was immeasurable as Wally's bone shattered in his leg. It was foreign to some of the supers, and the new sensation was not welcomed. Then, they all felt it. An even worse pain after, feeling the growth of the bones beginning to mend together and regenerate themselves, and a sudden hunger it their bodes. Even Wally was surprised at the horrific sensation. He was healing himself, but he was healing all wrong.

"Wow, fast at everything I see." The crowbar came down at the same exact spot, Wally couldn't stop the scream that ripped from his lunges. "You're just making this more and more interesting."

Robin turned his eyes away from the sight as Joker moved to other parts of Wally's body, his screams echoing loudly in the small room. He hoped Batman and Flash would make it in time.

* * *

Dee stared at Flash. He didn't seem to notice, but someone had tried to penetrate through the mental barrier. It wouldn't take long for the Justice League to figure out how to get inside Flash's mind and destroy his plan. Turning to look at the gruesome scene in front of him, he contemplated what Flash was possibly trying to do next.

Flash closed his eyes and listened carefully to his own heartbeat. It was his form of meditation. A ritualistic preparation for the moment coming.

_No pressure, huh? Just have a couple seconds to grab that thing and go. _Flash opened his eyes; this memory would be over soon. _I'm feeling a lot better. Don't know why, but I'm not complaining. _

The two sat in silence. One of them hoping for destruction, and the other for salvation.

* * *

**There ya go. Here it is. Whoootttt. Took a while. So, thanks for reading, hope you liked it. **

**Comments, critiques, and suggestion are welcome.**

**Ay, guess what? I have an idea for another Flash story hatching in my head...**

**:D**


	10. Failure

**Here we go! Whhooo! This Chapter was, admittedly, a little hard for me to write. I don't know why; probably because I just want to get on to the next part. Haha, but a lot of stuff did happen in this chapter, so that's good, right? I'm kinda afraid I'm skipping out of details, so if you guys catch any I miss, please leave that in your reviews. **

**I hope you guys are excited for this chapter. I apologize ahead of time for any horrible typos, because I'm trying so hard to get this up at a quick pace. And, of course, THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS! Warms my heart. **

* * *

Wally was broken. His body in shambles, but healing regularly. That didn't help the situation at all though. When bones were sticking out of your skin and organs were so severely damaged that they mashed together, healing was not what you wanted to do until they were fixed. The league was attempting to block out the pain, especially the steel heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman who had never experienced it before, but it was hard to ignore. Tears threatened to escape their eyes.

"You're not so spunky anymore are you," Joker looked to Robin, "I think it's time to switch playmates." Wally would have said something, but his jaw was broken from a particularly painful backswing. As the Joker began to stalk to Robin, Wally could only think about how worthless he was again.

_"Mista J," _a fuzzy noise sounded from an alarm by the door, a heavy Brooklyn accent indicating it was Harley Quinn, _"Our guests are here!"_

"Ooh! Coming, Harley! Get ready to greet our VIPs," Joker turned to the two boys, the permanent smile frozen on his face, "I'll deal with you kiddos later." The pair held back a sigh of relief. Wally let himself slip into darkness, and the league felt the pain dull and become numb.

As soon as the door slammed shut, Robin looked over to Wally. He cringed at the site of his limp friend, and he feared for the worst.

"KF!"

Silence.

"KF, come on I-" Harely Quinn kicked open the door, carrying a metal object in her hand. She placed the material on the floor and began setting the wires together.

"Settin' this up for Mista J, and-" She caught a glimpse of Kid Flash, "Oh! That looked like it _hurt_!"

Robin's eyes widened as he caught sight of the material she was carrying. There was no time to wait for help; they needed to get out of there and fast. Rotating his wrists, Robin was pleased to discover that he was regaining motion in his limbs. He reached down into his belt, and found it was empty. He expected that.

But a good Bat doesn't rely solely on his belt.

Robin reached into the top of his boot, felt around for a while and then grabbed a small metal object that slid out. Placing both hands behind his back, he flipped the switch and a small plasma knife emerged. He silently set to work on his chains as Harley struggled to set up the metal box.

* * *

Three dark silhouettes lined a dimly lit room.

"They have the founders, shouldn't we initiate phase two?"

"Now, Now. We still have plenty of time before we act. You know what they say, patience is a virtue."

"Don't talk to me about patience; I've been waiting on this longer than you have. All I'm saying is we could take them down now. Why are we waiting?"

"I agree. My powers may not work much longer, and I shall not focus on this long while my son lies unattended."

"Trust me," the figure suddenly materialized behind the other shadows in a blink of an eye, "This is not only the most effective way, but the most fulfilling."

* * *

Barry and Batman approached the abandoned factory. Flash, as a novice, had a problem of acting before he thought things out; he knew he was making the same mistake as he ran right through the open doors and into the dark building, but didn't care enough about his own safety at the moment. What surprised him was when Batman, the supposedly cool-headed one, joined him too. There was nothing but darkness around them, until a sudden spotlight flooded the room with light.

"Greetings, greetings! Welcoming the main acts of the show, ladies and gentlemen, Bat-breath and..."The Joker rubbed his chin, "Sorry, I don't really know you well enough for that yet." The pair of superheroes were surrounded by mirrors, the double door shut behind them to complete the glass dome. It was small enough to fit in the wear house and limited mobility. Joker was speaking from one of the mirrors, and Mirror Master shone from another one.

"Where's Robin and Kid Flash?" The Bat-glare was out full force. Joker laughed at the sight of it.

"Easy, big guy. They're right below the building, with the bomb," Joker turned to someone behind him, "Harley, you did set up the bomb right?"

_"Yes, Mista J! All finished and ready to explode!"_

The Two heroes eyes' widened.

"Goodie. Now, we're going to play a game," Joker stalked through the mirrors one by one, "The bomb by your little minis is set to go off in 4 minutes and 43 seconds. So if you don't escape this dome in time," Joker made a wide motion with his hands, "KABLOO-EE! Rules are that you aren't allowed to break a mirror, or else I'll push this," he flashed a remote detonator in his hand, "and you'll all be blown sky high."

Flash contemplated this; it seemed impossible, but he was ready to try anything.

"Sounds great, when's it start?"

"Now," Mirror Master resurfaced so that his face was on every mirror except for the two in front of Flash and Batman. Staring at their reflections, the two wondered what exactly was going to happen next. That was until their reflections suddenly stepped out of the mirror, two perfect, though backwards, copies, ready to fight.

"What the hell?"

"My newest invention. All I need is the reflection of a person, and my atomic manifestation ray is able to bend the light waves and increase the energy levels of each photon. Then, I take these from being pure energy and convert them into mass, solidifying images captured in the mirror. Basically, I can create copies of anybody."

Realizing the dangerous implication of that, the pair of superheroes got ready to fight. Batman started piecing together the puzzle in his head. The kid was a trap most likely, a mirror image. But how did they know where they would be? They could have been waiting it out or...Gordon. Thinking back on it, Batman remembered Gordon had been favoring his left-hand for movement much more than his right. A characteristic held by left-handed individuals. He was a reflection too! Cursing himself for not realizing this sooner, Batman was ready to fight with renewed gusto.

"Mirror Master," Flash completely ignored the situation at hand and turned to talk to his regular rogue, "I thought it's against your club's policy to team up with people like him?"

"Since the last time you put me in jail, I decided that I'm through with the cat and mouse chase. If one person could end it, it's him," Mirror Master phased so that all of him was visible in the mirror, "Plus, Wayne tech had the atomic stabilizer I needed to complete my newest project. It was too convenient to pass up."

"You know, it's not my fault that you decided to-" Suddenly, a red fist connected with his face and sent him flying, until something behind him smashed him back to the ground. He looked up to see the impostor Flash smirking back down at him.

"Always wanted to do that," Mirror Master turned, "Anyways, you have 3 minutes left."

In a sudden flurry, the chaotic battle ensued. The two Flash's were nothing but a blur of red, moving from each end of the dome throughout time. The dark knights did the same, slower in movement, but with heavier force behind each strike. This battle went on for at least 2 minutes, and at the high energy they were both fighting at, the pair began to tire.

"Batman," Flash yelled between strikes, "any ideas?"

The detective was silent as he was battling through his clone. Suddenly, he yelled over to Flash.

"Flash, vibrate your hand through them!" Flash stopped his fight suddenly and vibrated his hands at top speed. He stuck them through the impostor, who's face portrayed horror before he suddenly exploded in a flash of light. After the blinding affect passed, he ran over and did the same to the copy Batman. The same effect happened. Flash opened his eyes after the blinding light passed.

"How'd you know?"

"I just assumed that their atomic structure would be unstable. Transferring high amounts of energy would upset their molecular foundation." Flash stared at Batman.

"Right."

"Doesn't really matter. It took you a little too long to figure it out," Mirror Master's face shown through the mirrors, "you have less than 5 seconds. And remember-"

Batman and Flash no longer listened. The pair ran towards the edge of the dome, and Batman pulled his fist back and destroyed the mirror blocking there path.

"-if you break a mirror, the bomb goes off."

Flash and Batman looked at each other, before Flash picked up a struggling Batman and ran out of the building.

A couple steps out and the building exploded, swallowed by flames.

* * *

Dr. Fate made his way back to the medical unit. The doors slid open, and J'onn, who had been watching over his fallen family, turned around.

"Have you completed the counter spell?" Dr. Fate nodded.

"It is complete."

"Let's begin then. I fear that Flash's body cannot handle the undue stress much longer." Dr. Fate moved over and placed a hand on Flash's temple. Motioning for J'onn to come over, he then placed a hand on his head as well. The magic incantation escaped his lips and the room echoed with the strange aura that magic usually entails. It was a long; it took a good five minutes before J'onn felt himself leaving his body, and slowly passing the barriers of Flash's mind. The same dark mist that engulfed J'onn earlier and brought forth flames was burned away by Fate's light. The pair went deeper and deeper into the mist until, finally, there was a burst of color. They entered the colorful window, and suddenly found themselves tumbling down into an even deeper darkness, a bottomless hole.

* * *

Batman stared hopelessly at the burning building before him. It was all his fault. From leaving them, to not solving this earlier, to breaking the mirror; their deaths loomed on his head forever. What kind of hero was he when he couldn't even save his own son? He felt his mind screaming at him to run into the flames, to find Robin, but his mind was numb.

The current Batman stood with the league, silent and motionless. He remembered how he felt at that time. But looking back to the burning building now, he felt a completely different guilt plunging at his heart. One deeper, more raw...

Jason.

Wonder Woman sensed his tense demeanor and pained facial expression. In support, she placed her hand on Batman's shoulder. He didn't push her away.

The Flash in the memory stood eerily still. Like a statue, he stared at the building and for once said nothing. Both him and Batman looked broken, standing among the fire and wreckage without care for their well-being.

"Batman!" The pair whipped their faces to the raspy yell. They saw Robin underneath a pile of wood, covering something next to him. Flash ran over and immediately removed all the wood shambles pinning him down. After lifting the last one, Barry saw that the thing that Robin was covering in Wally; a complete mess, and barely alive. Flash vision flooded with red, his instincts called for revenge, but he tempered them as he lowered himself to inspect Wally's state. Batman was equally appalled by Wally's state.

"What happened?"

"Geez, do you think that I'm totally useless? I got us out once Harley left," Robin quickly looked down at Kid Flash, "but...he saved me. He wouldn't let the Joker hit me. I couldn't let us die after what he did, right? I had to return the favor."

Barry gently picked up Wally, who was unconscious. He turned to Batman.

"I need to get him to a hospital; he's healed but...I'll have to re-break and set everything. He's healed all wrong," Barry looked straight at Batman his eyes silently pleading, "I don't think I'll be able to help you with this case, Bruce." Robin stepped forward.

"Make sure he's okay, Flash. When he wakes up, tell him I'll come down to Central to help him with comebacks."

Batman understood that Barry had to go. In fact, he would have been mad if Barry placed the mission's priority over his sidekick's.

"Don't worry. I'll catch Mirror Master and Joker. They'll pay for what they did." Right before Barry zoomed away, he turned to Batman with parting words.

"Remember: Justice not Revenge."

He left with Kid Flash in his arms, leaving a streak of red. Batman never forgot Barry's words, even when he was gone. Suddenly, he turned to Robin and hugged him. The young sidekick was shocked, but did not complain as he returned the favor.

* * *

Flash saw his mentor zoom away in the memory, and his body coiled like a spring. When the scene suddenly started to fade away, Flash sprung out of his seat.

_Now! _

He ran at full speed towards Dee. Dee was quite literally mid-blink when Flash made it over to his seat. The scepter was almost in his hand, a mere centimeters away.

Then a bright light erupted in the center of his mind, and blinded Flash. He covered his eyes for only a moment.

When he looked up, Dee was gone, and so was the scepter. Wally turned around and saw him sitting back in what had originally been his chair, smirking.

_No..._

"Flash, I told you to take a seat." Once again, his body was no longer under his control as he was forced to sit into the metal chair. He saw it through the glass...the memory, it was starting.

_No._

"Lucky for me that your comrades came when they did, or else you would have been able to grab this." He waved the golden rod in the air. "I'll have to thank them for their sudden entrance. I guess this will be the last memory, it won't take long for your friends to start rummaging around here. But in the mean time" Destiny smiled at the shattered expression of Flash, "you have no choice but to relive this."

_No!_

A sense of resignation overcame Flash, his face reflecting the empty feeling pooling in his body. He didn't want to remember. He didn't want to see it again.

He didn't want to watch Barry die.

* * *

**I know I said I would include little short stories, but it would have delayed me putting up this chapter. And I don't think you guys want that. Might be a separate story just full of one-shots; sorry! I know I promised you guys can choose whether I put it in or not, but it'll delay the update speed if I do. Which, by the way, next chapter might take a little longer. Not much hopefully, maybe a week. **

**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it, and I appreciate the reviews!**


	11. To Kill a Flash

**I'm so busy guys, it's so hard to write! But I'm going to aim for once a week updates. For you guys :) This is a pretty long chapter, so the next update might be next Sunday or Wednesday, since I have a paper due on Friday. Yuck.**

**By the way, I was rereading my story and to me it read like a rough draft...like lightweight sucked a little, too many typos. Might revise this whole story some day...some day in the far future though. **

**On, and ****Dark Inu Fan**** caught a detail that I forgot to say explicitly in the story, but y'all seemed like you figured it out! If Wally's memory's aren't enough, he'll pull from other people's to fill in the blank stuff. **

**IMPORTANT BACKGROUND INFORMATION**

**IMPORTANT BACKGROUND INFORMATION:**

**Okay, so I forgot to say what time period this story is in. ****This story takes place BEFORE the events of Wally entering the speed force. ****In my timeline (it was hinted at but I'll now state it explicitly) Batman currently has no sidekick. Dick is now Nightwing, and he has not yet recovered from Jason's death in order to cope with bringing a new sidekick into the business.**

**Alrighty, now on to the story! Try and Review y'all! **

* * *

The memory ended in a bright light, blinding the six founders waiting in the inky black space. When they looked up, they saw that the light was in fact a portal, and two figures were tumbling through it. With a loud thump, Dr. Fate and J'onn landed in front of them.

Wonder Woman and Superman, who had been the closest, picked up J'onn and Fate respectively.

"Thank Athena. We knew you would come."

"You guys okay?" J'onn rubbed his head as Superman asked his question.

"Fine," J'onn surveyed the team. They looked relieved and grateful, but J'onn noticed that at least one face was missing. "Where is Flash?"

The dark knight stepped forward.

"I assumed that since we're in his head, we wouldn't be able to talk to him."

"That should not be the case. He should have a conscious residing in here as well," Dr. Fate began to ponder the ramifications of this. "What happened to you all?"

"Seems like John Dee escaped from prison. He's trapped us all in here, but he had a little help. We think he's using magic," said Superman.

"You are correct. This man, Dee, should also be residing somewhere in here. My guess is that he, Flash, and the medium are all in a deeper level of consciousness." Dr. Fate prepared to scan for hidden mental dimensions, but he suddenly felt a cold shoot through his veins. All the other members felt this as well, and looked at Fate with dread.

"We've been reliving Wally's memories," Hawk girl looked down at the floor, "we can feel the way he felt at that time, too."

J'onn and Fate looked at each other. J'onn knew the dangers of having an open and unrestricted mind, and how the emotions of another being can be too much for some. He knew just how expressive Flash was with his emotions; it practically rolled off of him in waves. There was a distinct possibility that, with so much undue stress at once, it could drive the league to madness. Fate understood this as well, and immediately shifted his priorities.

"J'onn, you will need to search for Flash and the medium. I will try and counter this spell, to at least lift the emotional bind. However, without the medium it may be a futile effort."

"Understood." J'onn's eyes glowed as he stood eerily still among the founders. Everywhere he turned to look there was a mental block; it would take him a while to pass through each and disable the barriers. It would be a little harder than originally anticipated.

While the pair stood silently among themselves, the rest of the leaguers were forced to continue to watch on.

Wally was sitting in costume across from Flash. He looked like he was 17, but he was always considered short for his height so it was hard to tell. The pair were in what looked like a sort of research area. It didn't take long for the league to realize that they were in S.T.A.R. labs located in Metropolis. While Barry leaned back in his chair relaxedly, Wally was twitching nervously and constantly eyeing the door, waiting for something to happen.

"Flash, I don't like this."

"It's not a matter on whether you like it or not, it's a matter of what has to be done," Barry sat up and rubbed the back of his head. Wally was dreading what might come out of that door; that was clear. His nervous anticipation ran through everyone in the room.

"Look, I just haven't been eating enough lately. I just have to change my diet around a little."

"Kid," Barry looked at Wally with sympathetic eyes; Wally was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince Barry that that was the true problem. "I've seen you eat, much to my own displeasure. You know that's not true. We need to figure out what's happening."

Wally shrugged off his comment. For the past couple weeks, Wally had been having melt-downs during his fights. The sensation that he had described before to Barry, the feeling of "hitting-the-wall," had happened much more frequently and more quickly. The last battle with Captain Cold had been particularly ridiculous. He had to pull out only a couple of minutes into the fight due to the extreme cramps that hit his body. Wally knew something was wrong with him, but he didn't want to admit it.

The door opened and a researcher in a standard white coat walked into the room. He lowered the clipboard in hand and turned to face the two heroes.

"Kid Flash, right?"

"Sup, Doc."

"I have the results back from the testing we did."

"Sweet. So, all clear? Can I go now?" Wally stood up and posed to run. The doctor shook his head and gestured for him to take a seat.

"Sit down, son. I have some...not so great news."

"What is it?" Barry was concerned; he knew from the start that Wally's powers reacted differently from his body than his own, but he didn't think this "wall"-thing was a horrible problem.

"Kid Flash, you can't use your powers anymore."

Wally shot up from his chair. Instantly, an icy panic ripped through his chest, an overwhelming anxiety building. This was the answer he was most afraid of.

"What do you mean I can't use my powers?!" Barry was equally stricken, but silent.

"Your speed. I'm not sure what it is, but in comparison with Flash's body, your molecular compounds are unstable. From what I can tell, the more you use your speed, the faster your cells move through their life cycle, degenerate, and die."

"What does that mean? I have a disease?"

"Kind of. In blunt terms," The doctor coughed into his hands, deciding sugarcoating it would only further delay the conversation, "The more you use your powers, the faster you die."

Wally was lost and unsure. His body began vibrating at high velocity's, exaggerating what an average person would say was trembling. He wanted to prove to them that he was fine, that nothing was wrong.

"Kid, look out, you'll-"

"No, I won't! I'm fine! I-" and then Wally collapsed to the floor in a dizzy haze; his body suddenly subject to intense and painful cramps. He looked up to the professor from the floor, his eyes pleading with him to change his verdict. The doctor gulped and turned to walked away.

"You need to stop, son. I'm sorry."

As he left, Wally slowly regained his normal-paced breathing. He was confused on how to take this statement, and looked to Barry for some comfort. Barry had at some point moved next to Wally, trying pick him up from the floor. Flash stood, turned to Wally and put a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll figure out how to fix this, but for now," Barry gulped, realizing how hard for him this would be, "I think it's better if you hang it up." Wally exhaled a heavy sigh. The league recognized the feeling he was experiencing. Batman remembered it as the period where he was nothing but Bruce Wayne, lost and angry at society. Shayera remembered it as the empty feeling from after the Thanagarian crisis. Each league member recognized it from some point in their life and directly sympathized with it.

Wally was lost. No longer knowing what was worth doing in his life; a deep depression edging in his mind. But even through this, he still turned to his mentor and plastered what he hoped was a convincing smile on his face.

"I needed a break anyways. This does get kind of exhausting." Barry smiled at Wally's attempt to hide his sadness. Flash dreaded this might have happened. He knew that Wally needed Kid Flash to be himself, and without it...he wasn't so sure what would happen. After the two had arrived home, Wally went to his room and hung his Kid Flash costume.

He never put it on again.

* * *

Green Arrow sat with Mr. Terrific in the database of the Watchtower, helping him supervise all missions currently underway. The meeting with the league had just been completed, with Terrific stressing with the utmost importance that they must not lost any sense of order or duty just because the top dogs were currently out. Mission's are to be carried out as it would in any normal situation, and Mr. Terrific, for the time being, was in charge of deployment. At the same time, he also promised that if there were any updates on the status of the founder's conditions, he would keep all members within the loop.

Green Arrow was unhappy with the situation at hand, but didn't think it could have been dealt with any better. However, Mr. Terrific seemed to be in a continual state of doubt. He was thinking and re-thinking something, and the silence was beginning to bother Green Arrow.

"Why the long face, Terrific?"

Mr. Terrific turned his attention away from the monitors back to the green-clad hero.

"Besides the obvious?"

"Besides that."

"I'm waiting," Terrific turned back to the screens, watching a now restored Metropolis, looking for signs of any disruption. Green Arrow raised an eyebrow.

"Care to elaborate?"

"These guys, whoever they are, have a plan. We've only seen the first part. I kept you and Supergirl on the Watchtower here strictly because I'm waiting for something down _there_," Terrific motioned to Metropolis, "to happen." Green Arrow nodded; it made sense to him.

"How are you so sure that it's going to happen there?"

Terrific silently contemplated this for a while. He didn't really have a reason to think that anything would happen there. Realizing that, he brought up images of Central City, Gotham, and even Star city.

"Good point."

* * *

Some indefinite amount of time had passed. The league wasn't sure until Wally emerged on the scene; it must have been about a year or so, because Wally looked around 19. He had been watching TV in his uncle's house when he heard the doorbell ring.

"Coming!"

Wally walked over and opened the door, seeing none other than Dick Grayson at the door.

"Hey-ah, Dick," Wally grinned at the sight of his best friend.

"Hey. Nice turtle neck." Looking down at his black shirt, he looked up at Dick with a frown.

"What's wrong with a turtle neck?"

"Nothing, nothing."

Wally rolled his eyes. Bats and their mind games. Wally let the previous Robin into the house. He walked over to the fridge, pulled out a cola, and threw it towards Dick's outstretched hand.

"What brings you to town?"

"Just wondering how you're doing. It's been a couple years since, you know."

"I'm fine."

"Fine?" Wally shrugged. He glared at the previous Robin, as if daring him to push it.

"Yea, fine."

"Look, Wally. Hate to be 'that guy', but I don't think you ever got over the superhero life."

This conversation again. It happened every time the two old time buddies met up, and was beginning to get on Wally's nerves. I guess it couldn't be helped, since a main point in their friendship had been in their double lives. With Teen Titans and even just working with the Bat, Robin and Kid Flash had become, undoubtedly, the best of friends. Dick Grayson and Wally West were a little different.

"Um, excuse me?" Wally flopped down on the couch, his cocky smile that he usually reserved for flirting adorning his face, "You're looking at the 19 year-old college graduate. I'm a genius."

Dick rolled his eyes.

"Yea, with a degree in forensics." Wally didn't see what he was getting at.

"So?"

"So, you're just trying to be like Flash! You told me you liked physics, why did you end up going into that?"

"Look," Wally's relaxed demeanor stayed, but he was glaring at Dick for picking on him, "I'm sorry I can't go fighting crime as some Night-ninja-"

"It's Nightwing."

"-whatever. But anyway, I can't fight crime the same way you can, and at least this way I can still help catch the bad guys. It's not my fault Barry had the same idea."

The pair stared at each other for a while, until Dick released a sigh. Wally was in denial, but Dick saw that he was indifferent about, well, his two probably wouldn't be able but do anything but argue today, and they both knew it. Wally stood from the couch and grabbed his coat, and turned towards his best friend.

"It's 9, I'm going to go visit the orphanage. Make yourself at home."

Wally closed the door behind him as he walked out onto the street. It was cold; not snowing, but chilly enough to need a heavy jacket. He knew Dick was right. All the civilians in town, he knew them when he was Kid Flash. Heck, he talked to everyone, hung out with everyone, as the masked vigilante. As Wally West, he knew next to nobody. He was just the nephew of Barry Allen; maybe even by some considered a younger version of Barry Allen.

In moments like these, Wally really enjoyed visiting the orphanage. It gave him more to live for, and reminded him of Grammy, who had been there to pull him out of a dark stage in life before. Wally passed by a convenience store and decided to go inside to buy some candies for the kids. As he entered, he noticed everyone in the store had their eyes glued to the TV screen by the cashier.

"Is it Kid Flash?"

"No, it's not Kid Flash, why would they be fighting?"

"The yellow costume does throw you off though."

Wally squeezed through the small crowd to see the screen that everyone had huddled around. He saw his Aunt Iris on the scene, trying to fight huge gusts of wind blowing by due to the extreme speeds of Flash.

_"Down by the Central City bank, Flash appears to be fighting some unknown villain. It was previously speculated that Kid Flash was back because of reported 'yellow blurs' through town. However, a statement from Flash proved this was false. This villain has been reported to have stolen an anti-matter ray machine from a research lab in Utah, making him extremely dangerous,"_ finally, the two individuals in the background stopped fighting and stood in the middle of the square. _"We will now try and get a closer look."_

The camera zoomed in on, what appeared to be, two Flashs. One was Barry, in the traditional red uniform. The other was a reverse Flash; he had the same exact costume, but a switch in the color scheme. Though the scene was fuzzy, one could make out the eerie smirk on the yellow Flash's face. Barry stepped forward.

_"Who are you? What do you want?" _

_"How rude of me. Let me introduce myself, I'm Professor Zoom, and what I want," _ he got into running stance, ready to attack, _"is you, dead."_

The league, at least John, Batman and Superman, all looked at each other with concern. They knew this memory; they weren't there to witness it, but they were all at the funeral afterwards.

"Fate, I think the faster you do this, the better. This could get pretty ugly." Dr. Fate made no indication that he heard Green Lantern, but continued to work on dissecting the spell.

Wally's eyes widened as soon as he heard that. It wasn't the first time a villain had threatened Barry's life, but it was the first time that Wally felt like the villain was actually capable of doing it. From what he saw, with his enhanced eye sight, Professor Zoom was equal in Barry's speed, if not a little faster.

Wally's resolve strengthened, and he knew he had to help. He grabbed a black ski hat and gloves on sale by the counter and dropped a twenty next to the cashier.

"Keep the change!"

"Hey, you sure? Its-"

Wally was running out of the building at normal speeds toward the city bank. Finding a dark alley way, he ran in and pulled on the gloves and ski hat. He pulled the top of his turtle neck over his ears, making a make shift mask for his face.

"Hah, try and say something about turtle necks now, Bird boy."

Joking aside, Wally ran at a normal speed towards the place where Zoom and Barry were fighting. He didn't want to activate his super speed too early; he would be useless in the fight if he hit the wall as soon as he got there. As he approached the sight, he saw what would most people would see was a red and yellow blur. Kicking his perception into high-gear, he saw two fast moving individuals, attacking and countering each other at speeds that even he had trouble seeing. One thing was clear though; Barry was losing.

"Why do you want me dead? What did I do to you?" A brief respite entered the battle and the two skidded backwards from each other from a particularly strong hit.

"You haven't done it yet, but you will. In the future, Flash foils my plans for creating my own empire. The easiest way to stop this is to get rid of the Flash."

"Well," Barry lowered himself into a lunge, "I'll stop you twice."

Anxiety pooled into the lower pit of Wally's stomach. This only got worse when Zoom pulled out the anti-matter ray. Knowing Barry would need as much room as possible to fight, Wally flashed over to the newscasters and reporters at high speed. The group was surprised to see what looked like a burglar appear before them with a gust of wind.

"You guys need to get out of here."

A random reporter stepped forward with their mic. "Who are you and what do you have to do with the situation? Are you Zoom's accomplice?"

Seriously?

"Look, lady, I'm not kidding. Get out of-" Wally heard the sound of a ray gun. He shot down at super speed, picked up the man hole he was standing near, and threw it at the ray beam, which was aimed at the reporter. As soon as the man hole hit the beam of light, it disintegrated into nothing. The reporters stared in shock at Wally, before turning tail and running. Iris, who knew who he was, looked back. She was scared. The two most important men in her life were fighting a futuristic lunatic.

Wally turned away from the reporters only to see Zoom glaring at him full force.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Geez. Nice to meet you, too."

Wally turned to Barry, who looked at him with obvious concern. He promptly ignored him. Turning towards Zoom, Wally got down into a crouch, ready to run.

"Come on Flash, two speedsters are better than one." With that, Wally and Flash lunged towards Zoom, who had a harder time keeping up with the pair of attackers.

J'onn's eyes shot open, as he turned towards some obscene corner of Wally's mind. He de-solidified and flew off. The league looked at him in question, and he uttered a couple of quick words.

"I found him."

* * *

Dee's faced scrunched in a scowl. He found him. There was no point staying any longer. Turning towards Flash, who had not moved since the beginning of the memory, he stood and opened up a bright portal in front of him.

"Flash, it seems I'm in a bit of a hurry. I can't stay much longer."

Flash didn't say anything. He didn't even move.

"Finally got you to shut up?"

No Response. Dee shrugged. It wasn't very fun picking on him anymore; it would be like taking candy from a baby.

"I'll just leave this," Dr. Destiny dropped the gold scepter on the floor; it already outlasted its usefulness. He stepped out of the portal, and Flash stayed glued to the chair.

Nothing but silence pervaded the small space. Flash kept looking out the glass window, where he could see his memory and his team on a lower level. Suddenly, he saw J'onn begin to fly towards him. It was the first time anyone down there seemed to have some sense of direction. J'onn got closer and closer to the glass, until he eventually phased through and stood right in front of Flash.

"Flash." Wally looked up at the martian. He probably should of felt relief when he saw him, but he felt an odd sense of shame.

"Hey, J'onn, what brings you here?" He was trying his hardest to be happy that he could finally get out of here, but he didn't feel that way. Wally wanted to stay there; he didn't want to face his colleges, his friends, when all but his soul had been bared for them to see. J'onn felt his hesitation, his desire to retreat deeper into his mind, and reached forward to stop him before he would run away.

"Wally. We are your friends. We do not judge or think of you any differently because of what we saw."

Wally said nothing. J'onn picked up the scepter from the floor, then turned to him with an outstretched hand.

"I kind of like it here. Go on, I'll catch up." The martian didn't budge.

"Come."

Hesitation held him back. He really didn't want to leave, but after a few moments Wally finally put his hand into his and felt himself phase towards his friends.

* * *

The sight of a martian and familiar blur of red stood in the dark background. J'onn and Flash reunited with the rest of the team. The team was surprised and happy to see Wally, but silence held among them as they tried to figure out what to say. Flash knew they were confused, and tried to lighten the tension.

"You guys enjoying the show?" If anything, the tension increased ten-fold. "Okay, bad joke. I'll shut up now."

J'onn knew that the team was unsure with how to react, but he was slightly frustrated with their speechless towards Dr. Fate, J'onn gave him the golden scepter that created this havoc in the first place. He took it and analyzed the power within, before speaking to the group.

"I have it," Dr. Fate stood among his peers and faced the memory. "Thanks to the medium, I have the spell. It will not severe the emotional bind, but it can at least dilute it."

"Whatever you can give us would be good." The dark knight and company watched as Fate raised his hands and said the magical incantation. Suddenly, the emotions were much weaker, not nearly as strong. They sighed a collective sigh of relief.

"If you could end this memory now," Flash was watching the fight scene being played before the league; he knew what was coming, "that would be great."

"I can not. The magical sequence has to be completed, the spell was already set forth. After this memory, we may all be free to leave." Dr. Fate saw the crushed expression on Flash's face. "Flash, I was able to dim everyone's emotional connection to the memory, but I can not dim yours. You are him."

Flash saw the rest of the league, who was looking at him with mixed expressions of concern. He knew that they wanted to say so many things to him based off of what they saw, but he didn't really want to hear any of it. Shayera moved closer to him with an outstretched hand, but Wally just backed up and turned away. It all felt so unbearably awkward.

"Hey, I've lived through it before." Flash looked up at the memory. "Besides, here comes the main action."

Turning to the memory, they saw Professor Zoom holding the anti-matter ray in hand. He was taking shots at the two Flash's, but it was hard to hit something when it traveled the speed of sound, even when you could move that fast too. Wally was running circles around zoom, when it hit.

His disease came on full force, subjecting him to painful cramps and causing him to fall on the floor. He looked up to see Zoom with his evil smirk, looking down the barrel and aiming right at him. Wally glared; he hated guns so much. Zoom's finger began to press down on the trigger, when suddenly a swoop of red came by and the gun in Zoom's hand began to give off electrical sparks.

"You idiot!" Zoom dropped the gun on the floor, "it's atomically unstable as is. You've started an anti-matter nuclear pulse propulsion!"

"In English?" Barry moved over to pick Wally up from the ground.

"This gun," Zoom gestured to the one on the floor, "will start energizing the antimatter particles and... " Professor Zoom stepped farther away from the gun, "never mind this, I'm leaving." Barry and Wally looked to each other in shock. Zoom suddenly began to vibrate at high-speeds, and then entered what looked like a portal. The pair of speedsters stared at the gun, which was gaining energy and increasing it's sparking.

"Wally, take off that hat you look ridiculous." The former Kid Flash peeled off his make-shift disguise and pulled down his turtle neck. No one was around anyway. "I know you're good at this stuff, tell me what Zoom just did and what's about to happen, in english."

"Well, Zoom traveled at a fast enough frequency that he was able to travel through time. He must have matched his particles wavelength's to the time period he was actually from." Then Wally turned to the ray gun, which seemed to be gaining a gravitational force. Small rocks and pebbles were suddenly moving towards it. "And based off what he said for the gun, energizing the antimatter would increase the destructive interference with things around them, creating a gravitational pull, meaning..." Wally's eye's widened when he realized what was happening.

"A black hole." Shocked, Barry looked towards Wally with something akin to fear. Then his eyes narrowed, a determined look falling on his face.

"How do we stop it?"

Wally stayed silent. He didn't want to tell him how to stop it, because he knew exactly what that would entail.

"Kid," Softly, Barry placed a hand on his protege's shoulder. Wally looked up to see the smiling face of his mentor, "I've done this long enough. I am willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to save this world."

After a good five seconds, Wally unwillingly told him what to do.

"You need to take away the black hole's energy. But absorbing that much energy, even for you...You'll die."

As if on cue, the ray gun began to form a black ring around it, and the ground was sinking below it. Barry looked at it before turning towards Wally one last time.

"Kid, I loved you like my own son. Look after your Aunt Iris, and if there was anyone I would want to take up this mantle and become the Flash, it's you." Wally's vision blurred; he felt like his stomach was being ripped out of him, but he tried to stay calm, if nothing for the respect of the man in front of him.

"Don't worry, Barry. Everything here is covered."

With a smile, the previous Flash zipped over to the anti-matter ray gun. He felt himself being pulled towards it as he approached it, and he grabbed it with both hands as he tried to steal the energy from the vibrating molecules. His body started vibrating faster and faster, until eventually he was slowly blurring out of existence. To Wally, who had super fast reception, he could see that Barry was being ripped apart; slowly at first, but then suddenly shredded until there was nothing left of him.

A bright light, almost like from an explosion, blasted throughout the area and Wally had to cover his eyes. He felt like something changed in him, like he was suddenly healthier and more fit, but at the moment it didn't register. Wally ran towards where the ray gun had been and viciously dug through the rubble. But his efforts were futile; he could only find shredded pieces of scarlet uniform and a lightning bolt.

He screamed. It was raw and hollow, and reverberated his sadness outwards to the world. Wally let his tears flow down unabashedly. Looking up to the sky, he couldn't even register that the first snow had begun to fall.

* * *

Doctor Destiny entered the rendezvous point for the rest of his accomplices. He looked around and saw Lex Luthor standing in the corner. He had apparently been waiting for his arrival.

"Finally, did you carry out your end?"

"Yes, and no." Luthor rose an eyebrow, before a glare settled on his face.

"Explain."

"I was not able to cause insanity among the rest of the league; Flash prevented that. However, I am sure I caused some amount of discord between them." Dee didn't like to accept the fact that he failed on his job, thanks to the like of a hero as idiotic as the Flash.

Luthor patted Dee on the shoulder, then turned to walk away.

"That'll do, John. We can finally move on to stage two, our guest was quite impatient about it."

"His kind typically are." Morgan Le Fay entered the room from another door. She turned to Dee. "Have you left the scepter to Doctor Fate?"

"Yes."

"Good. He may be the only one with enough mystical power to help my son." She began to take some steps to the door. "I am done here. Shall we all go?"

Luthor nodded.

"It's time for phase two. Destiny, you, Morgan and I will stay here in Metropolis. Let's go."

"What about me?"

Turning to the fourth and final conspirator in the plot, Luthor smiled as the door slammed shut. The yellow uniform was easy to spot, even in the middle of the dark room. The grin of his face mirrored Luthor's wicked expression.

"Why, you get the best job of all. All you have to do is kill the Flash."

"Well then, I'll do it in the same spot I did it last time. That would be tragic...wouldn't it?" Professor Zoom, having a sort of sick pride towards his accomplishment, he laughed loudly at his own joke. With a final chuckle, he zipped away to leave the other three in Metropolis.

As he ran through the fields down towards Central City, Zoom began to contemplate his plan of action. He knew he could do it.

He killed a Flash once, he would have no problem doing it again.

* * *

**Hmmmmmm...what happens next? Can you believe this chapter was going to be EVEN LONGER? But I cut it. That'll go into next time. Haha, well please leave any comments, suggestions or questions in your reviews. I welcome ideas! And if you guys notice I left out any details, that would be great if you let me know. I get kinda overwhelmed between this and school.**

**Lots of Love until next time! **


	12. Rising from the Ashes

**Geez. So guys, wasn't sure if I was going to make it, but I somehow did. I have a midterm tomorrow that I should be studying for, but...I said I would post Sunday, so gosh darn it I'm posting Sunday.**

**Half of the reason I was able to make this deadline was because of the work that my super awesome and super smart editor put in. **

**ERSATZ EINSTEIN**** is my editor for this story! She/he (I don't know lol) does an amazing job. She/he is a brilliant writer and definitely knows English and grammar. Gotta give credit where credit is due! **

* * *

The League stayed silent. Even with the muted emotions, the feeling of loss was still strong. It burned within them, and felt like an acid eating away at their core. John, Superman and Batman all took a moment of silence to reflect on their lost friend and comrade one more time. They all remembered the funeral afterwards and the memorial that Central City made to the Flash; it was a touching event, celebrating his best moments and accomplishments. Numerous people shared their stories about him, remembering the hero that the City knew and loved. Heck, even Captain Cold and a couple other Rogues said a few words of respect. The funeral was a perfect send off to the hero they all know and love. Even the funeral of Barry Allen, a seemingly regular citizen to the world, was filled with people who remembered the renowned forensic scientist.

After a while, they all turned towards Wally, who was staring out into the black oblivion like he was looking for something. Tears did not fall from his eyes, but that didn't mean they weren't there. He had cried enough about the loss of his teacher and father, and he knew that Barry wouldn't appreciate the fact he was wallowing in self-pity while his team was still in danger. He shook his head as if to remove himself from whatever he was thinking about, then turned towards Dr. Fate.

"Alright, I don't know about you guys," Flash rolled his head and flexed his shoulders, "but I'm ready to high-tail it out of here."

The League looked around as if contemplating their next move. A majority of them didn't believe that Flash was fine, but they didn't even know how to bring up the subject.

Wonder Woman edged forward. She rubbed her arm as she thought of what to say.

"Wally, are you sure you're alright?" Wally snapped out of his daze and turned to the Amazonian warrior.

"Yea, fine princess. Why wouldn't I be?"

Silence rested throughout the team. J'onn sensed that Wally's mind was...disturbed. If that was the word for it. He did a great job of hiding it and faking a positive attitude, but re-watching his memories changed something. J'onn felt his feeling of inadequacy, something that he never realized had always been there, had become the forefront in his mind.

"Can we go now?" Flash tapped his foot on the ground. "Please?" The JL members finally mobilized from their frozen states, walking towards Dr. Fate, who raised the medium and opened a portal. Before anyone could step through, J'onn materialized in front of it and took the medium from Fate's hand.

"Uhh..." Green Lantern expressed the confusion that was mirrored on everybody's face, "Okay. Care to explain why you aren't letting us out of here, J'onn?"

J'onn turned to Wally.

"You are not ready to leave."

Wally's face contorted into something close to anger, but not quite.

"I'm fine! I've been ready to leave since the moment we got here!"

"No, you are not. You are stuck in this mindset," J'onn's eyes softened, "Do not remember yourself as you were at that point, Wally."

Wally's frustration grew. He wasn't sure what J'onn was getting at, but he wanted to get out of there, the sooner the better. He released a heavy sigh.

"Look, J'onn, buddy. I know that you feel some need to help me, but trust me, everything is under control."

"Then show us. Show us how you became the Flash."

Wally stopped talking and thought back to that moment. Without meaning to, he was projecting his thoughts so that all the league could see. That moment, he remembered, had been his salvation. Without it, he wasn't sure if he could have recovered from his Uncle's death, or endure the empty life of just being Wally West.

"Fine."

* * *

Mr. Terrific watched the screens with minimal interest. Suddenly, the alarm rang throughout the Watchtower. Morgan le Fay and Dr. Destiny appeared in the middle of Metropolis. Terrific sat up and watched as the two started unleashing the usual havoc: tearing up the street, throwing cars, smashing windows...In general, creating a mess for seemingly no real reason. Green Arrow walked up when he heard the alarm and saw the two villains on the screen.

"Huh. That's an odd couple." Terrific began typing away on the keyboard, zooming in on the two characters.

"This doesn't make any sense. Why would those two even be working together?"

"Well, while you figure that out, Kara and I will go control the situation."

Terrific nodded and began to enter the coordinates for the Zeta beam.

"Go get 'em."

The pair materialized away, and Terrific sat back and stared at the screens with intensity.

He was busy figuring out exactly what was going when something blurred across the scene in Central. Terrific zoomed in on the clip and slowed it down enough until the figure came into focus.

Was that a yellow Flash?

* * *

The projection was clear and pristine across the scene. Wally monotonously threw a tennis ball against the wall while his aunt shuffled around the room. She was cleaning out; she started by looking through Barry's old clothes. There was a definite emptiness in his life now. He felt cold, disjointed. It was painful to keep going on when he didn't think he deserved it, when he thought Barry could have done more for the world than him, but he held on specifically for his aunt. She paused in her action and stared at something, piquing Wally's interest. He caught the ball and stood up from the couch. Walking over, he saw his Aunt Iris had found the Flash rings in the wardrobe. The pair looked at them in equal despondency.

"Well," his Aunt picked up one of the rings, gazing at it almost longingly, "What are we going to do with these?"

Wally stayed silent, unsure of how to respond. Iris looked down at the wedding ring on her finger, then she turned to Wally and put the Flash ring on his finger. He looked at her in confusion.

"I already have a ring to remember Barry by, you should have one too. Plus, I think it suits you better, don't you?"

Wally looked back at the ring before flexing his hand.

"I always wondered how he got the costume in there."

The two shared a laugh before they were interrupted by the doorbell. Iris walked over and opened the door, revealing an unmasked Dick Grayson, who had been visiting often since the death of Barry.

"Hello, Dick." Iris held the door open wider so Wally could see him. Wally walked up to the door and saluted his best friend.

"Hey buddy, wanna join us for dinner?"

The Boy Wonder shook his head.

"Actually, I was hoping you'd come down to Gotham tonight." The two looked at him in wonder. "Bats found something. You might want to know."

His Aunt looked at him and nodded. She would be just fine alone. Wally grabbed a jacket from the coat hanger before walking out the door.

"Alright, well let's go."

The scene transitioned smoothly until the pair was suddenly surrounded by darkness. The light turned on and they could see they were in Dick's apartment, which was astoundingly clean. It was plain and inconspicuous enough. The only thing that stood out in the room was the laptop on the table, which was extremely high-tech and powerful. Wally silently stood in awe of it as Dick sat down and began typing away.

"So, why aren't we talking to the Bat himself? Or is he only nocturnal?"

The former acrobat typed away with ferocity, and when Wally looked over his shoulder he saw that he was hacking something. The binary codes and matrices were lost on him, but he could tell that whatever Dick was hacking required quite a bit of skill and concentration. After a couple of minutes, Dick hit the enter key and sat back as the computer used the code to break into whatever he was trying to see.

"Batman and Superman are actually down in Metropolis dealing with something Luthor did. He doesn't know I'm telling you this. I don't think he was planning on letting you know for a while." Wally's interest was perked.

"So you hacked into the Bats' security system?" Wally smirked and punched him on the arm, clearly impressed. "Nice work, buddy." Nightwing smiled in return.

"Anyway, you know I took samples after the Zoom incident," Wally slightly frowned, remembering that Dick had been the one who found him in his less than honorable state, "you know, to try and see if there was anything we could do."

"Yea...and?"

"And then I gave them to Batman to analyze, but I realized the data he was sending me was false. So, I did a little research."

"You did a little hacking."

Dick shrugged.

"Same difference. So when I analyzed the samples, it seems that the antimatter dissimilated a form of radiation that cleared maybe a two mile radius. That means you would have got it. I cross-analyzed your DNA-"

"How did you-"

"a piece of hair. Like I was saying, I cross-analyzed your DNA to see what effects the radiation would have on you. The results were interesting. I had to check with STAR labs and a piece of your DNA pre-explosion, but after hacking into the Bat cave and seeing the results by Professor Hamilton, I'm pretty sure I figured it out."

Robin paused and turned to look at his friend, his face surprisingly stoic.

"Theoretically, the disease that inhibited your use of speed before should be gone."

Wally's eyes widened. He was shocked; he didn't know how to take the news. Wally sat down slowly on the couch across from his friend, who was watching him with analytical eyes.

"How is that possible?"

"Frankly, I'm not sure how it worked. But you're clear," Dick let a small smile slip onto his stoic face, "you can be a superhero again."

Wally was overjoyed for a moment, filled with unbridled happiness, but then his temporary high plummeted to depression when he remembered what had just happened to his mentor.

"No, I can't. Not without Barry. It wouldn't be the same." Robin placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Look, I was Batman's partner so that I could become a hero like him. You were Flash's so that you could learn to become a hero like him, too. It's time for you to step up to that mantle."

Wally looked down for a while, silently contemplating the news. Then, he stood up to leave.

"Look, Dick, I appreciate this, but-" Before he could get very far, the acrobat jumped in front of him and snatched the Flash ring that had been on Wally's finger.

"Hey!"

Nightwing let out an happy, yet creepy laugh, something he hadn't done since his green tights days, before jumping out the window to the fire escape.

"Meet you on the roof!"

Wally growled before he ran at normal speed up to the roof top. He hadn't used his powers in so long, he was used to slowing himself down. Halfway up, he realized that he could have run full speed up the steps. Heck, even up the side of the wall! He smacked his forehead.

"Duh."

He flashed up the staircase to see Dick standing there, tapping his foot impatiently. Once he saw the red-headed adult, he rolled his eyes and threw the ring at him. Wally caught it effortlessly.

"Finally, dude, what took you so long?"

"I forgot I could use my powers." Dick gave him a blank stare. "What! It's been a while! What did you take this for anyways?"

"Nothing, just wanted to see the uniform."

"...How'd you get it back in there?"

Another laugh from Dick, but Wally was genuinely trying to figure it out.

"Dude, I'm serious!"

"You mean you don't know? You just-" The fancy watch on Nightwing's arm started beeping. His face became serious as he pressed in a lock combination and a hologram lit up so that both he and Wally could see the screen.

"What's that?"

"An alert. It tells me when there's meta-human trouble in the main cities." The hologram slowly focused; his Aunt Iris, who was reporting on site at the city, appeared on the screen. As per usual, the incident was at the city bank. "It's back in Central City. That's pretty far, I don't think I could get there in time to cover it." Wally continued to watch with interest.

_"Iris West here with Central City News. An unknown villain is currently robbing the city bank, and authorities are failing to apprehend him."_ The criminal could be seen at the edge of the screen, and he emerged as he suddenly started running towards the camera, firing away at the police officers. The man, who was wearing a ski hat and armed with guns, appeared in front of the screen and grabbed his Aunt Iris by the waist. Wally, for some reason, felt like the man was very familiar, but he couldn't place it. The villain held his gun to her head, and faced the TV screen.

_"Hey, Central City. Here's the thing: no Flash means you guys can't possibly stop me. Now, I'll just take this hostage," _He gestured to Iris, who was glaring at him from under the end of the gun, _"and as long as no one follows me, she'll still be alive."_

Wally glared at the screen. He could tell by the look in this guy's eyes that he was dangerous, and someone like that shouldn't be trusted to keep his word. In his opinion, he looked like a stick of dynamite, simmering, ready to explode.

Wally made up his mind. He wasn't sure that this was what he wanted to do, but he knew it was the right thing to do at that moment. He backed away from the hologram and looked down at the ring on his hand. Quickly, he lifted the lever that released the button opening, and out sprung the typical scarlet costume that he missed seeing so much. He speed changed into the uniform, and at once noticed something was different.

"Dude, what'd you do?"

Dick smirked back at him.

"I upgraded it. If you ever decided to be the Flash, I didn't think you would want to be a replacement of Barry. I thought I could give you a new uniform that's a little more personalized."

Wally looked down at his own Flash outfit. The lightning bolts around the waist cut more into a V-shape, much like his Kid Flash uniform, and his cowl had lenses that covered his eyes like his goggles used to. Wally looked back at Dick in appreciation.

"Thanks, man."

"Don't mention it. Now are you gonna stop this guy or what?"

Wally smiled remorsefully.

"I'll be back in a flash."

Then the world blurred around his as he raced back to Central City, back to his home, back to his Aunt...

Back as the Hero the city needed, but maybe not the one they wanted.

* * *

**So...who is this Villain? Any guesses? ;) **

**Next post up next Sunday! Thanks for reading!**


	13. Questions and Answers

**Here you go guys! Thanks for the reviews, they were super sweet! I love reading them so much, haha! **

**I tried to make it a pretty decent ****length, as a special for Halloween/ my birthday. :) **

**So let's see who got their guesses right on who is the mystery villain! **

* * *

The cold, concrete jungle switched to rolling hills. Valleys of gold flooded his vision. The pavement subtly changed and became clay beneath his feet. Wally remembered running through here with his mentor a long time ago, and the nostalgia hit him like a ton of bricks.

He raced back to Central City, fearful for his Aunt's safety and the threats of the lunatic. He ran at his top speed. Unwavering and unyielding in his steps, Wally was almost guilty for the freedom he felt. Everything just seemed so right, and he couldn't explain the liberation that he experienced as he sped back to his city as no more than a streak of red. Wally missed the fleeting beauty, the impression of having an unlimited amount of time at his hands. The surroundings were frozen in motion, like a photograph but with more life in it. His absentminded daydreams were interrupted as the city appeared on the horizon.

It wouldn't take him much longer to get there. He secretly dreaded the outcome. How would the people react? With happiness? Anger? Resentment?

The high towers that marked civilization were upon him. Wally gulped as he stepped onto the highway leading into the city. Once he hit the heart of it, he switched roads, going to the Central City Bank. He passed by the frozen statues of people as he ran at inhuman speeds down the road. Out of curiosity, he looked back to see if the civilians noticed him. He silently prayed that they didn't, and would just ignore the sudden dust cloud and strong wind that passed through.

That didn't happen. Wally could see their heads slowly turn in his direction. At an agonizingly slow pace, the people's faces would evolved into pure shock. Wally even noticed that a few of them were starting to _follow him_. They were trying to run after him, or at least meet him at wherever he was going. Wally gulped as he realized just how many people were going to be let down when they found out that Barry was still dead.

He shook his head. That didn't matter at the moment. All he knew was that his Aunt was in danger, there was a crazy guy with a gun at the bank, and he had to be stopped.

The bank was in reach. Wally came upon the scene and observed with super-fast perception exactly what was going on. Apparently, the villain was still stealing some cash, and his Aunt was held in his vice-like grip, trying to get away. The police were phoning in reinforcements from behind the barricades since this was now a hostage situation. Without stopping, Wally ran past the blocks and up behind the burglar and his Aunt, then slowed down to human pace so that all the world could see him.

He felt everything shift until his perception was normal, and he could feel hundreds of eyes focused on him as he stood behind the burglar. The dust he had kicked up temporarily shielded himself from the prying eyes, but he didn't need to see to know that every person and TV camera out there was looking in his direction, all of them trying to figure out what just showed up.

The only person he could see through the thick, yellow cloud was his Aunt, who was the closest one to him. Iris made eye contact with Wally, and in a split second, her expression went from shock to a wide smile before it settled into her poker face. No one could have seen it but Wally, yet that split second smile was all the assurance he needed to know that he was doing exactly what he was supposed to. Thankfully, the burglar was busy watching the cops for the moment, and was facing the other direction. When he noticed that everyone had frozen and was looking behind him, he turned around to see the cloud slowly disperse into a thin layer of smoke. Wally took a deep breath. It was now or never.

The smoke cleared, and everyone could see him. Everyone recognized the red costume, even if it was a little different. Everyone saw the friendly smile and the familiar pose with the hands on the hips, even if that was a little different, too. The shocked expression spread throughout the congregation of people, and it was most evident on the culprit who faced the masked vigilante.

"Who...who are you?"

Wally grinned.

"I'm the Flash, the fastest man alive."

* * *

Mr. Terrific felt like hitting himself upside the head. This was a dumb idea. But if there was anyone who could find connections between two seemingly unrelated things, it would be the guy in front of him.

The Question.

The blank face eerily gazed in his direction, a gloved hand rubbing the base of his chin in thought. Turning back to Mr. Terrific, he let his hand fall before leaning on the piece of machinery beside him.

"So, you believe that the seven founders were targeted for an ambush?"

Terrific rolled his eyes. They covered this topic at least twice already. He nodded lazily.

Question made some grunting noise that sounded faintly of disapproval.

"And you said Fate believed Flash was the center of whatever magical construct was being made?"

"Uh-huh."

"And that you thought you saw a 'yellow Flash,' in Central?"

"Yea."

"And now, Morgan Le Fay and Dr. Destiny are working together in Metropolis to create seemingly pointless havoc."

"Yes."

"Hmmm..." Question turned away and stared at the screen of Metropolis, where Green Arrow and Supergirl had just arrived from the teleporter. They weren't so much as fighting the two rogue villains, but rather trying to protect the civilians from their assault.

Terrific, normally a calm and patient man, was starting to get tired of waiting for an answer.

"So, why are Destiny and Le Fay working together and what do they have to do with the founders?"

"That is the question."

Terrific stopped himself from smacking his head.

"Yea. But do you have the answer?" Question slowly walked back to Mr. Terrific. A lengthy pause filled the room until the conspiracy theorist decided to speak.

"Hhhmmm. I have an idea." Terrific sat up straighter, happy to finally be getting somewhere.

"Let's hear it."

"The attack on the league was just a bonus to the plot, but the real attack was centered on the Flash."

"Why would you say that?"

"Flash is the center of the magic bind, while a 'yellow Flash' appears in Central City. That's too many things connected to him, and there is no such thing as coincidence." Terrific continued to listen attentively.

"Go on."

"There is a group of people behind this assault. Le Fay and Dr. Destiny would never work together otherwise. My conjecture is that Luthor and the yellow-flash are behind this as well."

"Why Luthor?"

"Luthor knows something we don't. There's also some connection between him and Cadmus that I haven't found yet..."

"Luthor wouldn't mind destroying the league at any time, but he can't do it right now because he's running for president. He can't get his hands dirty, so he enlists the help of a few friends. Right?"

"Maybe. Probably not. Luthor doesn't need to draw negative attention to himself right now. He's doing this as a favor to someone. To who, though..." Question's eyes drifted to the screen of Central City. "The yellow Flash. I remember an article about something mentioning a Reverse Flash a couple years ago."

"The one who killed the original Flash?"

Question nodded.

"He's back. He's the one with the true motive behind this. He wants to take down Flash, for reasons unknown, which Luthor offered to help with to distract us to keep us from looking for the connection between him and Cadmus." Question took a break, looking up to the ceiling, as if searching for the connections between each part of the situation in the air. "Yes, it's all one big conspiracy. Dr. Destiny is a petty criminal, one who would jump at the chance to make a name for himself. Luthor helped him out, and then enlisted Morgan Le Fay. Though why she would I don't know..."

"So right now, you think that Morgan and Dee are just distractions to keep us from looking at Reverse Flash?"

Question nodded.

"Precisely."

"I'll radio in Arrow and Supergirl and tell them to switch locations." Terrific reached over for the comm link button to send the transmission, but before he could turn on the signal, Question swatted away his hand. Terrific glared up at him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Why not?"

"Reverse Flash is waiting for Flash to confront him. That means that he expects the founders to wake up."

"And?"

"I think that there are few heroes who could take on a man who was able to kill a Flash that was faster and more experienced than the one we have now. This man is dangerous. He won't do anything until he knows Flash will be the one to take care of him." Question inhaled sharply and leaned back, considering the possibility. "Better to let sleeping dogs lie."

Terrific put his hand down and relaxed in his chair. He considered everything the Question said, before begrudgingly admitting he was right. It wouldn't be a good idea to attack the unprovoked speedster. Crossing his arms behind his head, Terrific stared up at the screens, recognizing the calm before the storm.

"You know, I always thought your theories were a little crazy, but you've actually got a pretty solid head. Tell me another one of your conspiracies."

"Conspiracy, singular. It's all part of one big conspiracy."

"What is?"

Question ignored him and began to look through the trash bin by the machines, which slightly disgusted his companion. The faceless man picked up a box of cardboard and examined it closely.

"Just what I thought. Macaroni and cheese," he took the container and sauntered away with it. "Diabolical."

Terrific felt less assured about the explanation Question came up with.

* * *

"Impossible." The hooded figure created some space between himself and Wally, all the while holding his Aunt Iris at gun point. "You died. You're dead." Flash frowned at those words; his wound had not yet completely healed.

"Yea. My mentor, the original Flash, is dead." Wally took a couple steps towards the man, who fired his gun into the air a couple times before pointing it back at Iris. Wally stopped mid-motion.

"You take one more step, and even you're not fast enough to stop this bullet from going straight through her head." He was right; he wasn't. Wally put his hands up and backed away.

"Alright, alright. Let's not get too jumpy, okay?" The man stared at Wally. "Here, I don't even know you. I told you my name, what's yours?" He glared at the red-masked hero.

"Do you think I'm stupid?!"

"Can't blame a guy for trying."

Flash was at a loss at what to do. Then in the background, a cop shifted on the back line of the formation, moving towards his superior to relay information of some sort. It caught the gunman's eye and he took his pistol and pointed it in the cop's direction.

"Don't think I didn't see that-"

Wally had flashed into super speed as soon as the gun was away from his aunt's head. He ran over and wrenched the gun from the perpetrator's hand. Wally had to be careful of bullets because they actually traveled faster than him, faster than the speed of sound. Once the weapon was free from his hand, Wally threw it onto the other side of the cop barrier towards the officers. The criminal's expression slowly changed from shock to anger. Before he could retaliate, Wally grabbed his aunt and zipped her over to the medical unit on standby. He then returned to his spot in front of the bank robber.

Wally slowed down his molecules to normal speed. He saw a cop catch the gun he had thrown, and he narrowly dodged a right hook from the man in black.

"You don't have anything left to fight with. Why don't you just turn yourself in now?"

He was angry, reaching his boiling point. The man at last peeled back the hat that had been obscuring a clear view of his face. He growled in anger and frustration, and clear, blue eyes stared back at Wally with simmering ferocity.

Clear, blue eyes that Wally recognized from somewhere...

Eyes that he remembered...

Eyes that he had.

"Dad."

It took him a while, but Wallace Rudolph West stared back at his father, the man he was named after. He spoke just above a whisper; he was sure no one heard him over his father's angry shouts. Wally was thankful for the new installments of lenses in his costume, covering his eyes. He was shocked and stunned, but he felt no real connection to the man in front of him besides confusion and apprehension.

"I won't let you take me in! I can't let you take me in..."

Rudolph pulled some objects out of his pocket. It didn't take Flash long to realize that they were grenades. The situation was going downhill fast. Surveying his surroundings, Wally saw that the group of bystanders watching had grown significantly. They must have caught wind that the Flash had "resurrected." With a sense of urgency, Wally attempted to calm his father down.

"Rudolph," The man was startled that the Flash knew his name. "Don't throw those."

"How do you...No." Rudolph pulled his hand back, twisted off the top of one of the grenades, and threw it, "It doesn't matter. It's over now."

Everything happened so fast, even for Flash.

Three gunshots echoed throughout the plaza. Apparently, an officer had tried to stop Rudolph from throwing the weapons of death by shooting him, but was a little late on the draw. Instead, the man just fell to the ground in a motionless heap, and the grenades flew towards the crowd. The screaming was loud and piercing.

Wally, unconcerned for the moment about the gunshots, went for the explosives. In his vision, they were suspended in mid air. He ran towards them and jumped off the hood of a police officer's car to catch them before they descended into the group of people. With them in hand, he could see that the detonation time was coming soon and the chemical reaction was beginning to activate. Flash ran in the opposite direction and raced up the side of the Central City bank until he hit the rooftop. Pulling his arm back, he threw the grenades as hard as he could into the air.

They exploded into a fiery inferno above him, and looked almost like a huge, combustible firework. After he was sure that the danger had passed, he zoomed back down to the ground where the confrontation had occurred.

He slowed down until the world around him became normal-timed again. It was strangely silent. Wally looked out to the people of Central City to see that they were staring at him with a mix of awe and gratitude. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he turned to see his Aunt Iris patting him on the back before turning to walk to her news station.

"You were great, Wally," she whispered.

He beamed at her, and it seemed that all at once everyone erupted into cheers. The citizens, the police officers, the news stations, all were giving a round of applause for a job well-done. Wally would have basked in his city's cheers if there wasn't something more important at hand.

He walked to his father, who was sprawled on the floor, covered in blood. There were already cops and medics huddled over his body. Iris stood among the cops, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. He wasn't sure why the medics were there though. He was dead. Wally zipped over to figure out what was happening.

"Rudolph West?" Iris stared at the cop with a shocked face. "That's my brother, but he went missing at a young age." She looked over uncertainly at Wally, not sure if he should listen to the story of his father's descent. A small reassuring smile from the Flash put her at ease.

"Yes, ma'am. Says in our report he grew up in Blue Valley, Nebraska with his kidnapper, Mr. Thawne. We can't seem to locate his supposed kidnapper, even to this day." The cop stopped to look at his notes. "Married Mary," he chuckled at his own joke, "had a son, Wally who he abandoned and, oh, you adopted. What are the chances?"

"Do you know why he, ya know," Wally pointed a finger at his head and moved it in a circular motion, "went cuckoo?"

The cop shrugged.

"Not sure. Something to do with his kidnapper probably. Not to mention his job went to hell and had to live in a sorry neighborhood. I guess he kinda jumped off the deep end when his wife was killed; guess he thought he was next. Some people just can't handle that level of stress."

Wally stared remorsefully at his dad. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel, but he looked at him as if a stranger had died. His life with him seemed too far away to connect him to the person he was now. Time traveled faster for him, and he had admittedly blocked out his dark memories of long ago.

Walking towards the barrier the cops placed, he could see the entire police force lined up with their hats off, facing him. The news casters were practically shouting over the tape and people in the back were climbing buildings just to see what was going on now. Wally knew he couldn't put off the questions much longer, so he walked over to the massive group of people. As soon as he got close enough, the reporters started shouting questions at him that he could barely make out above the cacophony.

"Flash, are you the same person as before?"

"Why the different costume?"

"Where did you come from?"

Wally had to stop himself from zipping away, until he felt something tugging at his arm. He looked down to see a young boy reaching under the tape line, trying to grab his attention. His mother, realizing what her son had just done, tried to pull him back from the tape.

"I'm so sorry, Flash! Jeffery! What did I tell you about the tape!" Flash reached over the tape and picked up the young boy, Jeffery, who was smiling like crazy at the hero.

"No. It's alright. Jeffery, was it?" The boy grinned and nodded. Wally turned towards his mom.

"Kinda quiet, huh?" She laughed.

"At home it would be nice if he was a little more so."

"Are you the Flash?!" The young boy suddenly interrupted with a question.

"Yea. Fastest man alive."

"Same as before?" Wally frowned a little and thought about this question.

"No, that guy was different. He was better than me, but he told me that if anyone were to try and be the Flash, he wanted me to do it. And, well, I wanna do it. Gotta make sure this city's safe so you can play around and stuff."

Flash was well aware that the cameras were pointed at him, recording this. However, he would much rather answer to this kid's interrogation rather than those of the vultures known as news reporters.

"Where did you learn to be a Flash? I wanna learn!"

"Well, first you gotta start off as a Kid Flash."

"Did you do that?"

"Yep."

"How do you do that?"

"Trade secret, buddy." Jeffery puffed and his small face scowled a little.

"Where have you been? Kid Flash has been gone a while..."

Flash shifted awkwardly, frowning a little, trying to figure out how to answer the question.

"I was sick."

"And you're better now?"

"I'm much, much better now."

The mother held her arms out for Jeffery, which signaled to Flash to give her son back.

"Alright Jeff, be good for your mom, okay?"

He nodded and Flash handed him over. Once the boy was in her arms, she expressed her gratitude and proceeded to back up a little from the caution tape. Flash felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw one of the older cops that he remembered from his crime fighting childhood.

"Just couldn't help over-hearing, but were you that yellow-suited kid? Kid Flash?" Wally smiled, glad he got the name right.

"Yep, that's me."

"Kid," The officer beamed a broad smile, "you did great. Flash would have been proud."

"Thanks, I know I'm not him but, hopefully I can still help out." Flash, satisfied that he had given enough answers and had been serious enough for the day, turned to get ready to leave. He could see the reporters trying to dive over the tape to get to him. "It was nice talking to everyone again, but I gotta run."

Flash ran away, a scarlet blur, and the people of Central City cheered for their new hero. The city had gained a new idol, one that was just as caring and sincere as their previous protector. Maybe not as strong or fast, but it was enough for them. Wally had gained back the life he loved, and it kept him stable as he slowly healed from his mentor's death.

That was how he did it. That's how he survived the death of his father, his mentor, and healed the wounds that he never thought would close.

That was how Wally West became the Flash.

* * *

**The story isn't over guys! Still more to come! **

**So I think the two people who got it right were ProcrastinatorsUniteTomorrow  and Dark Inu Fan. Yay, good job guys! You get bragging rights. **

**Halloween is coming up: does anyone have any costume ideas? I was already a gypsy for one party; I gotta change it up. **

**Anyway, until next Sunday! **


	14. The Beginning to an End

**Hey Guys! I hope you had a great Halloween! I ended up being a tennis player, which is lame, because I am one already. I'm definitely taking your ideas for next year, though. I like the Black Canary idea, or even the zombie idea, quite a bit! **

**Also, it was Cartoon Network's birthday yesterday! Happy 20th birthday! I celebrated by watching it all day, though the only cartoon I like nowadays is adventure time. The other one's got nothing on the 90's cartoons. **

**Anyways, thanks for your lovely reviews, now on to the story!**

* * *

The scenery dissolved, like pixels slowly blackening on a TV screen. Serenity rolled across the team in waves, and the league realized that Flash's mind was naturally projecting his new stability. Wally, who had previously been standing off to the side, walked over and joined the others who were huddled in circular formation. He went directly to J'onn, scratching the back of his head in an awkward manner.

"Hey," Wally looked down at his feet. "Thanks. Sorry for how I acted. I hate to admit it, but I needed that."

J'onn gave a small smile. He sensed the renewed serenity in Wally's mind. It wasn't perfect, but no person ever had a perfect mind. It was at least seemingly more stable than Batman's. That was good enough for the time being.

Shayera, who had been standing on the side, walked up to Wally and smacked him on the head with her fist.

"Ow! What was that for-"

He couldn't finish his sentence as he was suddenly enveloped in a bear hug (or a hawk hug). Wally didn't say anything, but simply returned her embrace in gratitude. Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman smiled on the outskirts, and Green Lantern put a hand on Flash's shoulder.

"Hey hotshot, how come you don't use that brain of yours more often? I know it could have come in handy more than a few times." He was secretly a little sore to discover that Flash was actually smarter than him. Or supposedly smarter than him. He still didn't believe it. It made GL feel like all the times he had lectured the joking speedster for his idiotic actions were invalid.

"Yea, I'm a genius." Flash puffed out his chest a little. The others looked at him skeptically. "Okay, not exactly. I can learn things really fast. I take speed reading to a whole new level. But...I forget things pretty fast, too. I need to constantly review it."

"So right now, you're dumber than me."

"Yea, so-" Wally paused. "Hey! I could change that in a couple minutes!"

"You just admitted to it."

"Did not, I just said-"

Batman stepped towards Dr. Fate, grabbing the league's attention. The two bickering friends stopped and turned to the Dark Knight.

"I don't know about you guys, but I think it's time we got out of here. Dr. Fate?"

The golden helmet nodded and raised his scepter, and the others stepped into the portal of light, leading them to their own minds and dreams.

* * *

He gained consciousness quickly; with only a couple slight jerks to signal his awakening, he was able to open and adjust his eyes to the bright lights of the hospital room. However, Wally was unable to bolt upright as he usually did when he woke up; two strong arms were pinning him down. He looked over to see the blank face of the man restraining him. The Question kept his arms firmly on the scarlet speedster's shoulders, and Flash started to get concerned.

"Uh...Question?"

The faceless vigilante shook his head and pointed to the IVs. Wally understood now why he couldn't sit up; he would have knocked everything over and scared the nurse. While Wally watched the tired nurse begin to unhook the IVS, Question reached over to the side table where a tray of hamburgers were resting inconspicuously on the ledge. He took the tray and placed it on Flash's stomach.

"Eat."

That's when Wally realized it.

He. was. starving.

Not the normal hunger that would tell him it was time to eat, not even the kind of hunger he experienced after a long and strenuous mission. It was a ravenous, insatiable hunger. The kind that Barry warned him about.

Wally barely registered the nurse finishing her task as he almost dived into his food. A couple seconds later, Question handed him another tray that he had prepared beforehand for when Flash woke up.

"You might need more," Flash stated between gulps.

"There are three more trays."

"Oh, that'll be good enough for now."

The other members of the league were just starting to gain consciousness, and Flash fed his emaciated body while he waited for their arrival. He could see that Superman, J'onn, and Fate were pretty much awake. The others would soon follow.

"So, what's been happening? And no offense, but why are you here?"

"A lot's been going on, Flash, and you're at the center of it."

"Flash is at the center of what?" The big blue boy scout was holding his head like he had a headache, but he was otherwise fine. Superman as well as the others had gotten up from their beds and stood in the center of the room, watching Flash finish up the last of the burgers.

"I'll explain in the control room." Question turned to Flash. "Are you done?"

"Yep." Flash burped loudly and patted his stomach. "Thanks for the food."

"How do you feel?"

Flash lifted an eyebrow. Why did Question suddenly care so much? Everyone noticed this was out of character and turned to him with equally questioning looks.

"Fine. A little tired. Maybe a little...messed up. I'll need to eat a lot more within the next couple days to get my weight back up. But nothing I can't recover from."

Batman spoke up.

"Why do you care?"

"Like I said, follow me." Question walked out of the room, and the other heroes did so hesitantly. Wally tried to brush off the overwhelming feeling of dread, but he couldn't. He had a bad feeling about this.

They entered the control room, the screens displaying the teams currently out. Terrific was watching each screen, but turned around as soon as he heard the footsteps. At the sight of the seven founders, he released an audible sigh.

"Took you guys long enough."

The league responded with an arrangement of smiles and smirks.

"What's the situation?" Batman stepped forward and looked over the missions; he could see Morgan Le Fay and Dr. Destiny in Metropolis battling Green Arrow and Supergirl.

"We got those two down in Metropolis, but we think they're just diversions."

"Diversions that still need to be taken care of." Batman turned to J'onn, Shayera and Dr. Fate. "You three head in for back-up. Report back here when you're done." The trio nodded, and turned to the teleporter pad without question. As they stood on it, the floor emitted a bright blue light, and they fazed away.

"Where's the real problem if this is just a diversion?" Wonder Woman looked at the other screens; she didn't see a situation as far as she was concerned.

"We think Luthor came up with it." Terrific gestured to Question. "That is just a theory."

The heroes shared mixed expressions of concern. Terrific understood where they were coming from; he had held the same exact reservations when he first had asked for Question's help.

"It's a pretty sound theory. I agree with it."

The conspiracy theorist stepped forward, ready to brief the league on his idea.

"I believe the the entire point behind this plot is to eliminate Flash. The rest of you were just a bonus. Luthor enlisted Morgan Le Fay and Destiny to help with the plan."

"Of course he would be the one behind this," Superman scowled. His arms were crossed and he looked ready to fly down to Metropolis at that moment. "That explains the magic at least."

"But why would Morgan want to help them anyway?" asked Green Lantern.

"I'm not sure yet. That's beside the point though. Luthor didn't decide to do this spontaneously. He was egged on by someone else. He only agreed because it fell in line with his own plans."

"Who was it?"

Question pulled up a recording of Central City, zooming in on the main street. To everyone, the streets seemed normal, like a completely regular day.

"What are you showing us, Question?" Superman and the others were squinting at the screen.

That's when Wally saw a flash of yellow, and his heart stopped. No one else caught it. Even if the clip had been slowed down, it would have been difficult to catch the streak of color. Flash turned to Question, and his face told the conspirator that Flash had seen the other speedster, confirming his theory.

"Professor Zoom."

Appalled expressions rippled throughout the company. Wally's memory was still fresh in their mind, as well as his emotions during the fight. The only person in the group not shocked was Flash, who had a strange mix of anger and fear on his face.

"I have to stop him." Flash stepped ahead of the others. He was almost on the teleporter when Batman put a hand on his shoulder.

"Not without back-up."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but if Zoom wanted to kill you, Bats, you wouldn't be able to even see him." Wally cracked a bitter smile. "I would at least be able to do that."

The others were reluctant to let him go after this man, especially after the memory they had seen.

"Okay, I have an idea. Supes, you, Bats and Diana should go to Luthor and figure out what's Zoom's doing here, and GL and I will try take this yellow poser down. Sound good?"

"No." Batman spoke with finality. Flash looked down, despondent. He was afraid the league would try and take Zoom down on their own, and he knew that they couldn't do that.

"Superman goes with you."

Superman and GL smiled at Flash, who cracked a wide grin in return. Wonder Woman mirrored their expressions. Bruce walked over to the teleporter, and the Amazon followed after tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. The two beamed down to Metropolis, leaving the three final heroes behind.

"Well, he obviously wanted some alone time." Wally wiggled his eyebrows at the two other heroes. "Wonder what they'll be doing after they're done with the interrogation."

"Let's go, hotshot."

The three stepped onto the pad, and Flash's smile morphed into an expression of seriousness. It was one of the rare occasions that called for it.

"Just so you guys know, if things get really bad and I can't beat this guy..." Wally looked the other two in the eyes. "Don't save me."

Green Lantern and Superman did not bother to hide the shock on their face.

"Wally-"

"Listen, guys. You know my past. You know more than I think anyone would like to know about anybody. So you guys should understand when I say this, but I don't want anyone else to die on my behalf."

Superman and Green Lantern simply stared in his direction, speechless. They could not blame Wally for how he felt, especially when they had, at some point, felt the same way.

"If you guys have a shot to take this guy down, even if it means taking me down too...do it."

And before a question was asked, the bright blue light shot up from the floor. The machinery of the Watchtower faded into the urban surroundings of Central City.

* * *

"This is so annoying!" Supergirl lifted a car that was about to come crashing down on a civilian. The man stood in awe of the young girl standing above him, lifting the car, before he scrambled out of the way. Green Arrow was on the other side of the street, wrestling civilians that had apparently been brain-washed by Dee's telepathic powers.

"I'll say." Arrow jumped up and away from the crowd of civilians, landing on the top of a car nearby. He carefully pushed off the ones that had made it onto the top of the car, making sure he didn't injure them too badly. This had to be the most tedious fight he had ever participated in. The two heroes could not get a single shot in; Destiny and Le Fay had kept using civilians as diversions.

While Green Arrow had been fighting, he had failed to notice Dee begin to sneak up behind him from the cover of a black alleyway, a sleeping serum in hand. Supergirl saw his actions out of the corner of her eye.

"Arrow!"

Green arrow turned towards the young teen, only to see her get hit by a car that Morgan had sent flying at her.

"Kara!" Green Arrow tried to push away the civilians with even more vigor. "Dammit!" He didn't know exactly how much longer he would have to work, but he was getting tired of this pointless game. Destiny was on the green hero's heels, and was about to stab him with the syringe.

"Nighty night, Robin Hood."

However, before his hand could make contact with the archer's skin, a pale green hand grabbed his wrist and held it at bay. Two glowing, orange eyes materialized in front of his, and a familiar martian solidified in the air. The extraterrestrial smirked at Dr. Destiny's expression.

"I hear you like mind games."

In the mean time, Shayera had just flown down and had begun to gingerly peel away the civilian zombies from Green Arrow. She tried her best to be gentle: key word try. Kara freed herself from underneath the car and went on to join Shayera in helping Arrow round up the crazed people.

Dr. Fate, on the other hand, faced Morgan Le Fay head on. She had stopped fighting and floated serenely above the city. The golden helmet lifted the scepter he carried in his hands.

"I believe this was yours." She stared at him contemplatively.

"It was." Fate opened a portal and threw the scepter into it; making it lost to the other magician for good.

"You won't be getting it back."

"I care nothing for that trifle, or for this little charade, for that matter."

Dr. Fate stared back quizzically.

"Then why help Luthor?"

"Simple." The witch floated closer to the other magician. "It was Luthor's idea, so I followed through on my end of the bargain. But the main reason I aided in this scheme was so that I would, hopefully, talk to you."

"For what?"

"Dr. Fate, your magic is incredibly strong. Older than mine; dating back to ancient Egypt and deriving from the great magician Nabu. You could probably help me. You could fix the spell my son has broken, reverse its effects and renew it to its original strength. You can give him eternal youth again."

The other magician stared at the woman sympathetically; he could see where she was coming from and why she might want this, but it was outside of his reach. It was not that he couldn't complete the task. It was simply because he thought that he shouldn't do it.

"That is not your Fate. You were not meant to live this long, nor to bend and cheat death the way you have."

The cold mask of the women stared back at Nabu. Her eyes narrowed in discontentment.

"Fine, then. If you will not help me," her eyes glowed as she summoned power into her hands, "then I will have to make you."

* * *

"That was nice of you, Bruce."

The dark knight kept walking to Lexcorp, the dark-haired amazon behind him.

"What was nice?"

"To give Wally a chance to fight Zoom. You respect him quite a bit."

Batman said nothing as the pair continued to stalk towards the tower, ready to confront Luthor on his part in the evil plan. After a couple minutes of silence, Batman, though still not facing the beautiful princess, began to speak.

"You know that Wally is, at the very least, ten years younger than us?"

Wonder Woman was speechless. She had not made that connection yet. She knew he was younger, and that was why he acted differently, but she didn't think he was that much younger.

"He's been the Flash for only a couple years now. He has had a hard time adjusting to the solo act," Batman paused. "It's hard to see him as my equal sometimes when all I can remember is the kid in the yellow suit. If it was my choice I wouldn't let him fight Zoom. But I realized that if it was anyone else on the team, I probably would have let them go."

"Do you think this is when 'it' happens? In the Justice Lords Universe?" Batman was unsurprised by her deduction, demonstrating to the bright woman that he had already considered that possibility.

"I don't know."

Wonder Woman turned Bruce to face her. Both hands were on his shoulders, forcing him to stare into her clear blue eyes.

"You made the right choice."

Batman looked down at his feet, a glare settling onto his face.

"Did I?" He turned away from her contact and pushed the door of Lexcorp open. "Come on. The faster we finish this the quicker we can get back to them."

He ran through the door, diving into the dark room. Wonder Woman was only a couple steps behind as she followed his lead through the building. She could see how worried he was for the speedster, and his worry only magnified hers as they raced to find the mastermind who had started it all.

* * *

Central City. Barry's home. His Home.

Flash's home.

Wally looked around. At least in this part of town, there weren't many civilians to get in the way. Flash was worried for the endangered occupants of the city, but he brushed it off as he focused on the matter at hand. Turning to his two companions, he could see them tense and waiting. The three were standing by the bar on fourth street, the one where all the villains hung out when they weren't committing crimes. Flash though that if they were getting into a fight here, at least the majority of people would be able to half-way defend themselves.

Then, Flash felt it. A tug. A little leash pulling at the corner of this mind, telling him that a speedster was coming. He could never understand how he felt it, but he got the same sensation when Barry was around.

"Get ready, guys." Flash coiled his muscles like a spring as he saw a yellow flash suit approach quickly on the horizon. Even for his hyper-speed perception, the man was hard to see. Superman and Green Lantern jumped in surprise when the Reverse Flash suddenly appeared in front of them. Flash kept his composure.

"Flash, just who I was looking for. You know, it's not polite to keep a guest waiting."

"Sorry, I was taking a nap," Wally couldn't hide the hard edge in his voice. His tone was sharp like a steel knife, conveying his ultimate dislike, even hate, for the man in front of him. "But to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Simple. I just have to finish a job. I need to kill you, Flash."

Green Lantern glared at the man in yellow.

"Why? You're being a little repetitive, don't you think?"

Zoom unleashed an evil laugh. He threw back his head and let it ring throughout the seemingly empty streets. He then returned to his relaxed posture, as though the three heroes posed no threat to him whatsoever.

"Yes, I'm getting a little sense of deja vu here. You see, Flash, in the later future, foils my plans for my world domination. My beautiful empire slips from my grasp. So, I found a simple solution: no Flash, no problem."

"Yea, but you already did that!" Wally glared back at him with unmasked rage.

"I did." Zoom brought his hand to his chin. "But when I went back, there was the same outcome. Then, I realized it. I had killed the wrong Flash."

The league looked back, shocked at his words.

"Time travel is tricky, and landing in the right time stream is even harder. The second time I came back, I tried to prevent you being born. I took Rudolph West, and-"

"You kidnapped him?! You're Mr. Thawne?!" Wally was outraged. He did not expect that this man could be the source of so much of the grief in his life. The monarch of motion was so angry that he didn't even realize that this meant the man knew his secret identity.

"The one and only Edward Thawne. As I was saying, that plan didn't work either, so when I got back to this time, I asked one of the most brilliant minds of your century to help me with my plot."

Superman narrowed his eyes.

"Lex Luthor."

"That's right. Now, I admit, there is one thing that I don't understand." The three heroes stared back at him anxiously, waiting for him to continue. "How is it that you, Wallace West, destroy my plans in the future? You're slow. Slower than the previous Flash-"

Zoom suddenly disappeared from their line of vision. All three of them did not see him even move, not even Wally. That's when Wally felt a sudden warmth on the back of his neck, and heard a whisper in his ear.

"-and _much_ slower than me. How could you possibly even hope to stop me?"

Before Flash could turn around, Zoom was standing in his previous spot. Superman and Green Lantern glared angrily at the villain, who had a cocky smirk on his face. Flash matched their anger.

"I got some good friends who are just as eager to kick your butt as I am."

"Do you?" Zoom's smirk grew at the confusion on the younger man's face. "I took Luthor's advice and set up a little game for your friends, so that we could have some quality time. Remember the Joker's stunt in Vegas?"

The heroes' eyes widened.

"Same thing here. Except you have 45 bombs to find in the course of a half hour. The time starts," Reverse Flash pushed a button that was concealed on his glove, "now."

Turning to his companions, Flash made a decision.

"You guys need to get those bombs out of here." Superman glared at the younger man.

"We're not leaving you with him."

"Remember what I said. I need you guys to keep this city safe."

"Oh no, Wally." Green Lantern crossed his arms. "I planned on not listening to you back in the tower, and I'm not gonna listen to you now."

"Guys!" Flash looked at them in desperation. "You need to do this. I wouldn't trust anyone else to save my city but you guys. Keep it safe."

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, the two older heroes stared at each other before turning to Wally with a sigh.

"Fine, but if you die, I'm ending this guy myself."

Wally frowned.

"We don't kill."

"Kid, if you're gone," Superman ascended into the air, Green Lantern following, "I just might start." The two heroes saluted to the man on the ground, before speeding off to the far edge of Central City. Superman had already found a bomb with his x-ray vision.

Flash turned to Professor Zoom, readying himself into an offensive position. The other man didn't even bother to move.

"Ready to go? Or did you give up already?"

"Just giving you a head start."

Wally's rage grew ten-fold, but he tried to rein it in, refusing to let it dictate his actions.

"Fine. Have it your way."

Wally West sped towards Zoom as nothing but a red blur to the naked eye.

The fight had begun.

* * *

**It's getting INTENSE again! **

**Thanks for reading guys! I also want to give a huge thank you to those reviewers who read my author's notes! It's like I'm having a conversation with you, and I love that. **

**Hope you guys have a great rest of the week, until next Sunday! :) **


	15. Faster, Stronger

**Hi guys! This chapter was really hard to write. Fight scenes kick my ass ****every time. Not to mention there was sooooooo much going on at once. **

**I'm aware that there is part of the story that seems to be not in the correct chronological order; just to let you know, one part o the scene overlaps with another. Hope you guys got it! **

**Legitly, really hard to write. I'm sorry that the Chapter is so short, but I have a midterm coming up on Friday and...yuh gurl is screwed. **

**Please read and enjoy!**

* * *

Inhale.

Wally wasn't used to planning out his fights; he was a more spontaneous kind of guy. But as he stood in front of Zoom ready to attack, staring at his cocky expression, Flash felt like it was one of those moments where having a plan would be very useful.

Exhale.

Wally unleashed a flurry of punches, invisible to any normal person watching the scene. Dust flew up on either side of the two speedsters; their speed was so fast it kicked up a violent wind-current. Left, right, left, right, uppercut, jab, hook... Wally's face hardened, glaring at the yellow blur that was Zoom as he dodged his attacks.

Nothing was landing. Every hit was a miss. Every shot did nothing but slice through empty air.

Wally growled and flashed backwards a couple steps, creating some space between the two speedsters, even though he wasn't sure how helpful that would be. Zoom's face held the exact same arrogant smirk it had only minutes before. At a deliberately slow pace, he stretched his back and yawned.

"Really, Flash. Is this the best you can do?"

Wally grunted and got into a start position.

_I have to think of a new strategy. _

"Don't worry, that was just a warm up." Flash ran in circles around Zoom, gradually gaining speed until a mini-wind vortex rose from the ground. The tunnel grew higher and higher, but Zoom seemed unaffected by Flash's efforts. In fact, he was laughing.

"Is this really it? Is this really all?" Zoom spun counter-clockwise, creating a destructive interference to the tunnel Flash created. Then, spinning even faster, he created a strong gust of wind that flung Flash back a couple feet. Trying not to land on his head, Flash caught himself on his hands before flipping over onto his feet in a crouched position.

"The scarlet speedster, the monarch of motion..."

Wally ignored his adversary and stood with his arms held straight out in front of him, spinning them to create two mini-tornadoes from his arms. He aimed them straight at Zoom, who mirrored Flash's actions and spun his arms in the opposite directions. The two storms collided and cancelled out, until Zoom spun his arms even faster. His wind tunnels overpowered Flash's, and the wind knocked him off his feet and into the building behind.

"Arghh!"

His back bounced off the brick as he collapsed onto the ground. In his vision, the world was spinning lightly. Wally clutched the back of his head, realizing that he might have a slight concussion. Suddenly, he was suspended above the ground, held by a yellow gloved hand around his neck.

"...The Flash! The Fastest Man Alive!" The Professor tightened his grip. Wally scratched at the hand cutting off his breathing before he suddenly found himself thrown into the wall beside him. Lifting his head, Flash looked up at the yellow-suited menace.

"It's my turn now."

* * *

"Watchtower? You there?" Green Arrow was crouched behind a car off the main street; he held his hand to his ear, attempting to gain a communication link.

_"Status report, GA. What goin' on down there?" _

"Good to hear from you too, Terrific. Dr. Fate's handling Morgan Le Fay, and also tearing up the city." Green Arrow ducked as he heard the sound of a nearby explosion. Fate and Le Fay would pull up cars, unleash magic blasts, and power through buildings. Magicians didn't exactly have the most controlled form of fighting. "Shayera and Kara are evacuating the area and trying to clean up the mess a little."

_"And J'onn?"_

Green Arrow looked out onto the side street and saw the Martian and Dr. Destiny standing face to face, not moving. The millionaire shrugged.

"He's busy, too."

_"Okay, I want you to grab Supergirl and I'll beam you to another location." _

Green Arrow scrunched his face; he hated having his molecules messed with.

"What for?"

_"There's a situation in Central. There are 45 bombs that have to be disabled in a half hour." _

"That's crazy! That's less than a bomb per minute!"

_"Yea, and Superman and GL are running low on time. We need all the help we can get, not too mention it'll be great to have another person with x-ray vision."_

Green Arrow nodded and got ready to move from his position.

"I'll tell you when I get Kara. You don't want Shayera too?"

_"Her mace off-sets magic. She might be helpful in Fate's fight. The faster they finish the better."_

Green Arrow moved from his crouched position. Running out onto the street.

"Sounds good, Terrific. Green Arrow out."

* * *

Luthor sat contentedly in his chair, his fingers intertwined and elbows resting firmly on the armrests. Looking out his giant window at the top level of his skyscraper, he relished the destruction brought on by the fighting below.

"Luthor."

Lex smirked when he heard a familiar, gruff voice. He turned his chair around slowly, watching as Batman and Wonder Woman emerged from the shadows of the room.

"Batman, Wonder Woman, hope you're having a pleasant evening."

"Cut the crap, Luthor." Batman stepped forward until he was right in front of the desk. "Your election will be over when word of your actions gets out."

"That's a big accusation, Batman. How can you prove I'm part of all this?" Luthor's smirk never left his face. Diana stepped forward, her face portraying her seething anger.

"We can easily get your accomplices to talk. What will you do then?"

"Alright, alright." Luthor held his hands up, a hint of amusement in his expression. "Let's say I am a part of this and you do get them to talk. Bravo, you have two witnesses who aren't even from our time period and one who is mentally insane."

"I'm pretty sure it would still hurt your election."

"Right, Batman. Unless I turn around and accuse the Justice League for using me as a scapegoat to their own problems." Luthor stood from his chair, leveling himself until he was eye-to-eye with the dark knight. "People are afraid of you enough as it is already."

The two superheroes glared; their hands were tied on this one. They wouldn't be able to prove Luthor's association with the other criminals, meaning they couldn't bring him to justice.

"But why go after Flash? You're usually too preoccupied with Superman to care."

Luthor smirked at the two leaguers.

"You think I didn't notice that when your alternate dimension selves came here that the Flash was missing? He holds a special relevance to the grand scheme of things, doesn't he?" Luthor smirked at the pair of glares facing him. "Not to mention my friend was trying to figure out a perfect plan to take care of him, I thought it just meshed together so well."

"Luthor, I swear that I-" Wonder Woman stopped her coming tirade when Batman put his hand on her shoulder. She loosened her grip on Luthor's desk that she had unconsciously grabbed onto. There were hand indentations in the shining metal surface.

"I think it's time you took your leave. Mercy, will you show our guests to the door?" Luthor gestured to his assistant, who walked in from a side office. She looked angry, but at what and at whom was unknown.

"We can show ourselves out."

Wonder Woman, still angry, punched through one of the windows and grabbed Batman by the arm. Turning back at Luthor, she smirked and nodded to the now broken window.

"Hope you don't mind."

The two heroes flew away, and Luthor sat back in his chair, still smiling.

Flying above the city, Batman used his free hand to contact the Watchtower.

"Mr. Terrific, status report."

_"I got GA and Kara heading to Central City. Green Lantern and Superman are currently trying to find and disable bombs set up by Professor Zoom."_

"And so Wally is just fighting Zoom by himself?" Batman growled out to the communicator. There was an accusal behind his statement, but Terrific thought it was better that he ignore it.

_"Yea. He is." _There was a lengthy pause in the conversation.

"Tell Flash that I have a plan, and then link our comm signals together so I can tell him what to do."

_"Uhh. He kind of got rid of his comm link." _

The Bat glare was at full force.

"You're joking." Batman resisted the urge to rub his temples. "Beam us up to the Watchtower."

Severing the communications link, Batman turned towards the Amazon princess flying them above Metropolis. He nodded at her, indicating to her to land on a building and await the oncoming zeta beam.

* * *

Flash stood on his feet shakily, trying to zip away from the yellow menace. Zoom, anticipating his actions, grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. The villain unleashed a flurry of punches at Wally, mimicking his previous move. However, unlike Zoom, Wally wasn't able to dodge any of the punches. His punches were so fast, it sounded and felt like a machine gun. After a final uppercut, Flash stumbled backwards a few steps before holding his ribs.

_Yep. Those are bruised. _

_"Flash?! Flash!"_

A buzz sounded in Wally's ear, and he heard Green Lantern's voice over the comm link.

"Hey, GL, kinda busy right now."

_"What was that sound?"_

"Umm..."Wally stood shakily on his two legs. He kept one eye on Zoom the whole time, conscious of any apporaching danger. "His fists."

_"What do you mean 'his fists'?"_

"He breaks the sound barrier. Those are mini-sonic booms. Look, just focus on the bombs, okay?"

_"Flash, you better-" _

Wally took his comm link out of his ear and threw on the ground. It was probably not the best idea, but he didn't really care at that moment. Zoom smiled wider when he saw Wally's frustration.

"The first Flash I killed put up a much better fight than you did."

Wally held his battered body. He blinked and found himself flying through the air, courtesy of Professor Zoom's fist. He was then thrown in another direction, thanks to a kick this time. Zoom moved around him, hitting him from side to side. He felt like a pinball in an arcade game. After numerous hits, he finally skidded to a stop on the concrete ground. His suit was torn and dirty, and his mask was half-way ripped up the side. Wally laid on his back, staring at the clouds, barely registering Zoom's maniacal laughter.

_Uncle Barry, if you were here, you would have found a way to beat him. _

"Look at you, you're just a kid pretending to be your favorite superhero!"

Wally felt something tug within him; he was so dazed, he couldn't quite register it. The feeling was familiar, and he tried his hardest to decipher it.

"Really, Flash is the title to the fastest man alive, right? How would the previous Flash feel if he knew it went to you?"

_I could never replace Uncle Barry. No one could. _

The tug was stronger this time, and Wally recognized that it came from the place where he drew his speed from. He could never put the sensation into words, but he inherently knew that his powers were, somehow, protesting against him. As if trying to tell him that he could do much more than he thought he was capable of. His connection to his speed felt stronger than before, and it felt like it was growing.

"Wally West, the greatest Flash of all time? The one who gained complete control of the speed force? It must be a joke." The Professor continued his tirade, unaware of Flash's body regularly healing itself.

_No. Zoom's wrong. Barry told me he wanted me to be the Flash. I have a reputation to maintain. _

Wally slowly turned to his side, struggling to get on his feet. His strength was steadily growing as he drew his speed from deeper inside himself, fueling his will and abilities.

"How adorable, you're trying to get up. I have an idea: how about after I kill you, I become the Flash? I am the true Flash after all! I'm faster than you." Zoom's voice bounced off the walls and echoed through the street. Those words held weight, the look in Thawne's eyes portraying the seriousness of the threat. The promise behind it scared Wally more than anything else ever could.

_No! I may not want to replace Barry. _Wally's body vibrated at speeds it never had before. Zoom was too preoccupied relishing in his glory to see it. _But there is no way in hell I'm letting this guy become a Flash! _

Suddenly, Zoom's laughter was cut off by a hand around his neck, and his eyes widened in surprise as he saw Flash holding him above the ground. Wally brought his arm down, bringing Zoom's face closer to his and looked straight into his steely eyes.

"Let's bring this somewhere else, okay?"

The surrounding blurred around Thawne until he was in the middle of a valley, outside of Central City. Listening carefully, Zoom could here the remnants of a loud noise. It took him a second to figure it out, but he finally understood what it was.

A sonic boom. Wally had moved faster than the speed of sound.

Wally released his grip, dropping the yellow speedster onto the ground, who promptly stood up. He did not want to be caught unaware. Staring at Flash, Zoom's anger and surprise were clearly evident on his face.

"How? What did..."

Zoom was perplexed by Wally's new growth in power, and to be honest, so was Wally. The best answer Wally could think of was that Wally put a barrier on his speed sub-consciously because he didn't want to replace Barry. However, the thought of Zoom replacing Barry scared him more than the thought of himself doing so.

"Fine. Somehow, you increased your speed. Big deal. Now we're evenly matched, but I will still beat you." Zoom, actually taking Flash seriously this time, got into a running position. Wally smirked slightly.

"Let me teach you something, Professor." Wally mirrored Zoom's position, ready to face probably the most intimidating villain he has fought.

"No one messes with a Flash and gets away with it."

* * *

**So, like I said, the comm link part. Batman's POV is obviously just a *tad* bit later than Flash's; hope you all get that! **

**Sorry that this is so short once again! Ugh, midterms. **

**Until next time! **


	16. Around the World

**Ahhh...I can hear it now. **

**"Finally! You updated! What took you so long?! You broke your promise for regular updates." **

**Yes. That's true. And I don't have any excuses either...but I have explanations if you're willing to hear them.**

**I was a bit under the weather for a while, which resulted in me slacking in everything that I do. And now, the first quarter of school is finally ending, and I have some MASSIVE finals to worry about . Seriously, massive. My math class is 100% final for the grade. **

**So, I've been studying my ass off because I'm not too hot at math. Please forgive me guys! It'll hopefully pretty regular updates in two weeks time. My finals are on next Saturday and Sunday, so don't expect an update then. **

**Sorry about this guys! :( But anyways, onto the story! **

* * *

Batman and Wonder Woman materialized in the control room of the Watchtower. Mr. Terrific sat idly in his chair, watching the Central City bomb search. Question was also watching the screen, but with less direct interest. Instead, he was busy mapping something out on a table in the center of the room. Nobody bothered to disturb him and his work.

Batman stalked up behind Terrific, ignoring Question's activities.

"What's the situation?"

Terrific shook his head and grunted.

"Not lookin' too good. They have 30 bombs to get in 20 minutes." Terrific looked up and saw Batman's disapproving face and sighed. "It's taking longer than expected. Zoom hid bombs in peoples' homes and hospitals and such. It's not easy for Superman to explain why he showed up on some guy's doorstep."

Batman nodded, understanding how that could be a difficult situation. None of the heroes down in Central City were particularly good at breaking and entering undetected, so they had to take the direct approach. That often took more time; sometimes more than the situation allowed for. Punching in a code, Batman opened a signal transmission down to Central City.

"Clark."

_""Hey, Batman." _The residents on the Watchtower could see Superman soaring above the city on the screen. _"You get Luthor?" _

"No."

_"No? Why not?" _

Superman did not look happy over the video feed. Feeling the same way, Batman brushed the bitter emotions aside and focused at the task at hand.

"Politics. Clark, how much longer until you can disable all the bombs?"

_"This may come down to the wire. Zoom says there are 45 bombs, but I've only been able to see 44 since he told us. Kara can't find the last one either." _

Terrific cut into the conversation.

"Safe to assume it's a bluff?"

"No." Batman's eyes narrowed at the screen. "I don't think he would do that. Keep looking for that bomb, Superman."

_"Will do." _

Terrific was about to cut the video feed, but Batman stopped him.

"One last thing: can you give me a location on the Flash?"

Superman began turning as he floated above the ground, his eyes glowing red. Before he completed his survey, he stopped a few degrees shy of a full rotation and stared out into the distance, but then continued rotating until he was full circle.

_"I thought I saw him...but no." _

Batman's eyes narrowed and cut the video feed abruptly. He began typing away on the computer, leaving the other superheroes in the dark about his next course of action.

Wonder Woman stepped forward and peered over the Dark Knight's shoulder.

"What now?"

"We need to find Flash."

* * *

"Ahhh!"

Shayera let out a war cry as she smashed a car had been brought to life by magic. Morgan Le Fay noticed Hawkgirl bested her creation, and she attempted to cast a spell to reanimate more objects, but was interrupted by Dr. Fate and a magic blast.

Shayera floated behind Fate, who was still blasting his ray at his adversary.

"You guys have been at a stalemate for ages. Can I just go and knock her out?"

Struggling to maintain his assault, Fate finally dropped it only to find a snake zooming at his face. He materialized a silver shield in front of him and threw it into the animal, knocking it out and causing it to fall limp.

"Shayera, you know that I cannot let you fight. I may hit you in the cross fire. This is a fight between spell-casters."

The red-head rolled her eyes.

"If you hit me, I won't take it personally. Keep her still."

She fluttered away, leaving Dr. Fate to dodge Le Fay's incantations. Hawkgirl flew higher and higher until she was hovering above the two magicians' skirmish. Fate, seeing a speck in the sky, understood Shay's plan. He shot his hands out with a magic blast, and instead of going straight at the witch, wrapped his enchantment around her and materialized it into a fence. Morgan Le Fay glared at the fence and raised her hands, ready to escape.

Shayera wouldn't give her the chance. The superhero dived down headfirst, folding her wings and holding her mace out in front of her. Morgan heard something coming from above her, a hawk cry resounding in the air. She looked up, and with horror saw the hero free-falling to meet her at impossible speeds. Her concentration broken, she could not conjure up the counter spell to remove the box around her. Shayera's mace made full contact with her head, denting the metal mask that covered her complexion. Morgan Le Fay shot towards the ground, landing with a loud boom in a newly formed creator. Shayera and Fate looked at each other before flying down to meet the knocked out woman.

She was unconscious in the rubble, now harmless. Fate raised his hands and his bright purple magic enveloped her being. The spell that came out of his mouth was long and complicated. After a couple of minutes, a bright light enveloped the villainess and she was gone. Hawkgirl turned to Dr. Fate.

"What was that?"

"I sent her, and anyone else tied with her fate, back to her time. I gave them back their youth and original appearances, but I took away their powers."

Shayera nodded.

"That sounds about right."

The two heroes turned to the side at the sound of a grunt. They saw J'onn and Dr. Destiny standing completely still, staring directly into each other's eyes. Sweat had broken out on both of their foreheads. Destiny was grunting, seemingly fighting something relentlessly. His hand, which still held the syringe with the sleeping serum, floated ominously between the two and was poised to stick J'onn at any moment. Destiny's arm was shaking violently.

Shayera was about to walk over and just knock out Destiny, but Dr. Fate held her back. J'onn's eyes narrowed even more than they had before, and Destiny's grunting grew louder with exhaustion. Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream ripped from Destiny's mouth. His arm twitched, before it swiftly descended and stabbed his own leg.

Destiny slumped to the ground, asleep. The illusion cast on him dropped, and he became plain ol' John Dee. J'onn's eyes stopped glowing and faded to their normal orange. He held his head before turning towards Shayera and Fate. Keeping his composure, he walked over calmly, as if nothing had happened.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Shayera shrugged, a smile adorning her face.

"Now that you're finished, let's get out of this dump."

* * *

Flash stood completely still, glaring at Professor Zoom just a little ways away. Steadily clenching and unclenching his fists, Wally tried to be patient and wait for Zoom to make the first move, something uncharacteristic of him. His opponent seemed to be thinking the same thing, and the pair was at a stalemate. Then, the wind blew, and a couple of leaves floated by slowly, carried by the light breeze. Wally watched them and silently kicked his brain into hyper-speed.

The leaf steadily slowed down until it became frozen, suspended in mid-air.

Staring at the leaf, Wally marveled at the new found speed he achieved.

And he would have marveled at it longer, but a flash of yellow on his left side forced him to dodge and switch his focus.

Zoom lurched forward, unbalanced, when he realized that Flash had dodged and he had hit nothing but air. Seeing an opportunity, Wally hit Zoom with an unforgiving uppercut. Thawne took a couple of steps back, but quickly recovered and attempted to land a barrage of punches on Wally.

The pair equally dodged, blocked and attacked. Any onlooker would have seen nothing but a blur of the impressive exchange of attacks. After a couple minutes, the two hit each other with right hooks, creating distance and a much needed respite.

Zoom suddenly disappeared from Wally's gaze, and Flash lurched forward from a kick in the back. Realizing Zoom's strategy, Wally ran a couple of feet away, just in time to escape another hit from the Professor. The pair began running sprints away from their previous spots, each attempting to escape a hit from the other. It looked as if they were teleporting. Leaving the indirect approach, Zoom rushed towards Wally head-on and began hitting once again.

Wally blocked a punch, but then felt a searing pain in his arm and pulled it away.

_Ow! What the?_

Looking down, Wally saw that Zoom was vibrating his fists, so that they would pass through his blocks and upset the molecular structure in his arm. Flash realized that he couldn't block, and ducked out from a particularly wide and nasty swing. From beneath Zoom, Wally pushed his arms to the floor and used both legs to kick up into Zoom's stomach, launching the yellow offender to a few feet away.

Wally needed to create some space. The short distance attacks were tenuous and tiring, and he needed more time to recover. The Scarlet Speedster sped off in the westward direction. He could hear Zoom trailing behind him, ready to overtake him in a couple seconds.

_Okay, Wally, think. We're equally matched. _Flash ran out into what appeared to be California, and was unfazed as he switched from running on land to running water. _This is going to come down to strategy. _Zoom appeared next to him, a determined spark in his eyes.

Zoom once again threw an assault of punches, and Wally returned the attack with equal ferocity. Suddenly, Zoom stuck out his foot and tripped the red-clad speedster, causing him to skid along the water. As Wally attempted to stand, he felt the pressure beneath his feet begin to give way, the water around him bending out from underneath him. He began running before the surface tension in the water gave out.

Once he was up and running again, he veered left, heading more towards South Asia.

He sped through Thailand, Egypt, New York, and even back through California at least seven times, with Thawne steadily chasing him all the while. It seemed like he was waiting for something, but for what?

Unexpectedly, Flash's vision blurred and he tripped on a seemingly harmless rock. Skidding a long distance, Zoom passed him in the dead sprint. That's what he was waiting for; for him to exhaust himself. With his head spinning, Wally laid on the floor, half of his uniform ripped off from the friction of the pavement and his skin bloodied. Flash lifted his head slowly, and saw the Eiffel Tower on his side and numerous onlookers staring at him.

_What happened? _

Flash felt another wave of nausea hit him, and he got his answer.

_Shit. I'm hungry. How am I supposed to fight? _

Seeing two red boots in his vision, Flash stood shakily and sprinted away from the scene until he was back to circling the globe. He could barely ignore the gnawing in his stomach, but he pushed forward, attempting to forget the fact that he was on the verge of starvation.

_A little hunger never got in my way before. I wanted to lose a couple of pounds anyway. _

Flash cringed at the pang in his lower abdomen, but he kept his composure and kept running. Contemplating a way to escape, Flash maintained a solid pace.

_Wait. _Flash pumped his arms faster, his legs following in suit. _I got it. _

* * *

Batman sat isolated from the group, messing with technological instruments that were beyond comprehension of anyone else in the Watchtower. Question still ignored everything around him, and Terrific had switched locations for Hawkgirl, J'onn and Fate, beaming them to Central City to help with the bomb search. J'onn and Fate would be particularly good additions because of their ability to reach through solid objects.

A loud beeping rang from the Watchtower panel, and Terrific reached over to see what was bothering the system.

"Batman, an anonymous transmission is trying to establish a communication link. Should I let it through?"

Gazing at the binary codes that were displayed on the screen, the Dark Knight narrowed his eyes. He recognized that hacking signature aywhere.

"Let it through."

A young masked man appeared on the screen, smirking at the other heroes in the room. Wonder Woman's eyes widened a fraction in recognition.

"That's-"

"Nightwing," said Batman, interrupting Diana and facing his protégée. "Why are you calling the Watchtower?"

"I just thought you might need my help." The former boy wonder was smirking at the screen in a humorous and joking manner that remotely reminded the other heroes of Wally.

"What makes you say that?"

"Come on, Batman." Robin's face steadily hardened, settling into a glare and becoming much more serious. The resemblance between Batman and his student was much more noticeable. "Metropolis has been demolished, and there's an unprecedented amount of Justice League members in Central City. The only one who should be there is Flash, and he isn't. And you know that guy doesn't skip out on camera time when he has a choice."

Silence engulfed the Watchtower, and Nightwing's concern grew more. He wouldn't admit it, but he often felt like he had to look out for Wally, even though he was older than him.

"What's going on?"

Diana stepped forward this time, deciding to talk to the young hero herself.

"Professor Zoom has returned, and he's trying to kill Wally." Diana noticed Nightwing's eyes widening; his face was much less stoic in comparison to his mentor's. "They are currently engaging in combat."

"You're letting him fight alone?!" Nightwing glared at his former mentor. "You know what that guy did to Barry, what he can do to Wally, and you just let him-"

"Dick." Batman's tone was firm, and left no room for argument. "I will help him. Once I can find him. He abandoned his comm link and there's no way we can track him without it."

Richard Grayson's expression changed from anger to understanding. He sat back in his chair, trying to help think of a solution. Then, he stood up from his chair, readying to leave the room.

"Hang on a sec."

All of the heroes in the Watchtower raised their eyebrows. After waiting for a good two minutes, the heroes saw the boy wonder stumble back into the room with an odd metal contraption in his hand. He held it up to the screen and showed his elders what he had found.

"This," he waved the machine at the screen, "is something Wally and I built a couple years back. It tracks anything that moves at Mach 1, aka faster than the speed of sound. When objects break the sound barrier, they create a shock wave, a cone of pressure, that travels behind the object. Wally tracked those waves and used the information to measure sonic booms around the globe, and specifically honed it down to find things of figure of merit of 1 at ground level. That way it only tracks things that are about human sized."

Batman and Terrific seemed to understand, but Question and Wonder Woman looked a little more unsure about the machine.

"Basically, it tracks speedsters. We built it during the Teen Titan days so that Wally would know where Barry was in case he needed help. If you hook this up to the Watchtower mainframe, you should be able to get feed on where Zoom is, as long as he's moving faster than sound."

Batman looked over at Terrific. Reading the unspoken message, Terrific nodded and began initiating a zeta beam sequence. Batman prepared to cut the transmission.

"Nightwing."

"Yea, Batman?"

The world's greatest detective smiled at his student, his finger ready to press the button to end the feed.

"Good work."

* * *

**BAM. THERE YA GO.**

**Hope you guys liked it, and sorry for the long updates in between. Don't worry though, after this next week I should be able to give constant updates and actually FINISH the story! Yay! **


	17. Running on Empty

**Man, guys. We live in depressing times. Times where there was a massacre of innocent children in Connecticut, and my friend came home from winter break only to find out her father died earlier that day. It's just horrible. My heart goes out to all of those who have lost a loved one, ever, and hope that they can recover from the shocking loss and move on from the tragedy. **

**However, the unfortunate fact is, life goes on. I hope that you all can find some happiness this holiday season! Feel the merriment that goes on, and try and do your own individual, kind acts, wherever you can. :) Spread the holiday cheer! **

**I also forgot to thank you all for those kind words and sweet get-well wishes while I was sick. It made me feel so much better! I'm still sick (crazy, this cough won't leave me) but I feel much better! **

**Enjoy the story guys! It's almost over...**

* * *

_"Alright, Kid." _

_Barry walked towards his newly inducted sidekick, who just recovered from his first battle. Wally hadn't been much help against the Rogues. They clearly had much more experience than him in fighting. The whole time, Wally was targeted by the Rogues and became more of a nuisance to Flash than a help. _

_"These guys actually know how to fight speedsters, and since you're just starting out, you were an easy target to them."_

_"Well, how do I become a non-easy target for them?" Kid Flash was staring at his feet in shame. With a comforting smile, Barry kneeled down to eye-level with his nephew. _

_"Easy. You just have to recognize all your weaknesses."_

* * *

_ Okay, Zoom. _Flash, though feeling very light-headed already, pushed himself to run even faster than he had before. _Let's see how well you know yourself. _

Zoom didn't bother to hide the shock on his face; he couldn't keep up with Flash! He saw the red blur dart to the right on the horizon. Zoom guessed Wally had ran into one of the forests on the coast of New England. Following his gut instinct, he raced into the evergreen forest blindly. The footprints were clear in the earthy ground, and he sped forward with his head down, focused on the trail. Unknowingly to him, Flash was hiding behind a rather large tree, with an equally large branch pulled back behind the trunk.

He heard the high-speed shuffle, signaling Zoom was approaching. With a smile, Flash released the branch and began running out back on the trail. Zoom had an adrenaline rush as soon as he saw Flash in the distance, and willed himself forward.

Suddenly, Zoom was lying on his back, staring at the sky. A branch, one that had not previously been there, was blocking the sun from his eyes. Everything was fuzzy and he guessed he had a concussion. Taking a couple minutes to lie there, Zoom finally got up and pursued Flash, holding his throbbing head and even more angry than before.

Flash smiled, realizing his plan just might work.

_Obviously, this guy never fought the Rogues. _

* * *

"Have you got everything covered, Supes? We have 15 minutes left."

_"I'm sure we can locate and disable all the bombs in time." _

"Really?" Terrific listened intently to the incoming transmission, ignoring the bustling behind him.

_"Well, the last one is a bit of a problem."_

"Then you need to start evacuating the citizens of Central. Assign some heroes to begin moving people outside the bomb's perimeter."

_"But I think we can-"_

"No way. I'm not willing to chance it and I'm sure you don't want to either. We'll evacuate the city. Understood?"

_"Understood. Superman out." _

Turning back to the scene behind him, he saw Batman and Wonder Woman wiring the machine they just picked up from Nightwing. After tinkering it a couple times, the pair finally got the signal to work. On the large screen, the crude outline of a world map displayed on one of the Watchtower screens. It was the only indication that the device was created by children. The audience all awaited for something to happen. Finally, a dot appeared on the screen, quickly moving through China.

"That must be..." Wonder Woman stopped speaking once she noticed there was second dot pursuing the first. "How are there two dots?"

"Simple." Batman couldn't hide the slight smile on his face, or the tiny swell of pride that warmed his chest. "Wally broke the sound barrier."

"Well, at least one thing good came out of all this." Terrific watched the two dots constantly circle the earth, occasionally vanishing before reappearing in the same place a couple seconds later. He also had a proud smirk on his face. "Now the problem is, how are we gonna talk to him?"

"He's right. We found him, but we have no way of communicating to him. He's moving too fast for us to know where he is exactly."

"We're just gonna have to guess where he's going next." Batman watched the two dots trail around the world numerous times. "No matter how spontaneous a person claims to be, humans are prone to patterns." After a couple minutes of waiting, the two other heroes sighed as Batman began typing into the computer again. Thinking they may not get an answer, the two began to walk away as the Dark Knight decided to speak up.

"He'll be outside of San Francisco in ten minutes. Diana, I'll beam you down with a communicator. Make him take it."

* * *

Zoom was angry and tired. He's been tripped, tricked, and every other thing that speedsters hate. Zoom felt like he was fighting a little kid. An annoying. little. kid. The kind that plays a prank on you then runs away before you had a chance to punish him. Before he could realize what was happening, Zoom was cut in a hundred different places from tiny glass shards. Wally had broken an immobile's car window they were racing by, and the glass shards were still suspended in the air when Professor raced by. It was amazing bit of planning, considering that Wally was leagues ahead of him right now.

Wally looked over his shoulder, relieved to not see the reverse-colored uniform.

_Okay, Flash, let's be honest. All I'm doing is steadily wearing him down. And if I'm playing that game, _Flash winced and held his stomach, _let's face it, I'm going to lose_.

He felt the cold wind of the north west coast greet his face, and he prepared himself to cross onto the Pacific water. Well, that was before he saw a tall, Amazon in an American flag suit. He slowed down until he was at normal speed to talk to the dark-haired princess.

"Diana, you have to get of here. You have about ten seconds until-" She pushed a finger on his flapping lips to quiet him and with her other hand, held out the comm link that he abandoned back in Central.

"Fine, but take this."

"Honestly, I-"

"If you don't take this, I don't leave." Flash sighed and reluctantly took the black technology from her hand. She glared at him, and he begrudgingly placed it in his ear. Diana smiled.

"One more thing."

She tossed him a loaf of bread, fresh from the Watchtower kitchen. Bruce didn't tell her to take it, but she knew (if someone asked her later, she would claim she knew by her '"women's intuition") that the young hero needed a little something to recharge. Flash had to stop himself from salivating.

"Thank you. You really are a Wonderful Woman."

With the smile, the Scarlett Speedster zipped off, leaving Diana to de-materialize as she was beamed up to the Watchtower just as a yellow-suited speedster passed.

Before Flash stepped off the land and hit the water, the bread had been devoured and was at the mercy of his hyper-metabolism.

_"Hope you don't get a stomach ache." _Wally smiled at the voice.

"Oh great. It's you Bats. Just the optimist I needed to hear from."

_"Jokes aside. I have a plan to help you beat Professor Zoom." _

"Well, I have a plan, too. And it's working right now, so..." Wally stopped. He could somehow feel the bat-glare through the comm-link. "Okay, fine. You're plan. What is it?"

_"I just need Superman and Black Canary, and you to circle the world a couple of times more." _

Wally could hear Zoom gaining on him. The yellow uniform was closer than he would like, about three yards away, but he couldn't will himself to run at any greater intensity.

"Fine, but you better hurry. "

* * *

Question continued charting points on a graph, mumbling quietly too himself.

"Where could it be...there's a pattern here...I just have to find it."

His noises were masked by the clutter and chaos in the control room. In the background, Superman had just been transported into the Watchtower. Terrific was contacting Black Canary, who was away on a mission in Zimbabwe.

Batman was giving orders to the civilian workers and engineers, asking them to prepare for his plan.

"I need you to make a heat suit that withstands 1,200 degrees Celsius for Black Canary. I need it done in ten minutes. Can you do that?"

The workers looked at each other with dubious expressions. Then, seeing the Dark Knight's famous glare, they all gulped and looked at their captain. A tall, blonde man with a stony face nodded to the part-time justice leaguer.

"Sure, we'll convert one of the space suits. It'll be faster that way."

"Good." Turning to his friend and ally, Batman walked over to Superman, who was waiting for his order. "Clark, I need you to go to Mauna Kea, it's a dormant volcano in Hawaii."

"Okay, and do what?"

"Drill a hole in it, so that you can access the magma from ground level." Clark raised an eyebrow. This would be a very delicate process, since he wouldn't want to cause the volcano to explode. "Also, don't let the magma escape. We're not draining it."

"Alright, do the impossible. Sounds good. And then?"

"Make sure there's standing space. We're going to put Black Canary in there."

"You're going to put me where?" The blonde in question walked up to the significantly taller men, having just arrived from her previous mission. Batman smirked down at her.

"In a volcano."

* * *

Flash was running. He wasn't really sure where he was going, or even how fast he was going. He just knew that he was running as fast as he could and for as long as he could. His arms were pumping, his legs shuffling, and he knew that at any given moment his legs could give out and he could drown at the bottom of the ocean.

_"Flash."_

Wally thought he heard something, but he couldn't focus long enough to try and listen to the static in his ears.

_"Flash. Flash are you there?" _

The world was slowly becoming a blur, moving out of focus, and the items around him were unfreezing from their motionless state and beginning to move. The colors became brighter, and with his warped vision, all he could see was dancing tie-dye.

_"WALLY."_

Snapping his head up, he accelerated until he was at the previous velocity he had seconds before. Everything around him slowed back down, and unbeknownst to him, he just narrowly escaped a swing from the trailing Professor Zoom. He shook his head back and forth as if to snap him out of whatever funk he'd been feeling.

"Sorry, Bats. I'm getting a little tired, that's all."

Everyone in the Watchtower, who could hear his voice over the intercom, was shocked to hear how exhausted his voice was. Nobody on the team had ever seen or heard him so tired before. Of course, Wally didn't know this. He thought he was only speaking to Batman at the moment and that no one else could hear his dry, wheezy pants.

_"It's okay, Wally. Just a little longer. I just need you to run Hawaii now." _

"Hawaii?" Wally wouldn't admit that he didn't know where he was at the moment and was slightly delirious.

_"Turn about 30 degrees to the left. You should see a mountain in about ten seconds. Once you're there, run in an entrance made right off the water." _

"Got it. Mountain. Entrance. Yea. Got it." Wally gulped, wishing he had some water to quench his parched throat. Finally, he saw a huge lump of something on the horizon and figured it was the volcano. With what was left of his will, he pushed himself to pull ahead of Zoom and approached the looming rock. Seeing a man-made entrance, he dashed inside without thinking twice about what might be waiting for him. He ran into a rather long tunnel, feeling the air becoming hotter and stuffier. A glowing red was visible at the end, and for a second Wally wondered if the league took his advice and decided that they would kill him and Zoom. It would be the perfect opportunity, to trap them in the hot volcano. They would both quickly become dehydrated, and the heat would make them sluggish. Suddenly, something hit him from the side and pulled him to a far, isolated area in the cavern. He was near the magma, but he didn't really understand what was going on.

Flash vaguely recognized it was very hot.

"Wally, it's me, Superman. Just stay quiet for a little bit, okay?"

_No Problem, Supes. _

Wally didn't realize he didn't say that out loud, but instead silently leaned on Superman for support. The said hero enveloped Flash in a bear hug, to shield him from the waves of heat that rolled off the magma. Clark turned to the entrance of the volcano, where he could see Black Canary standing at the very opening of the tunnel, protected by the intense heat by the suit. Using his x-ray vision to see past the rocks, the former boy scout monitored the fast approaching Professor Zoom.

"Now!"

Canary lifted the lid of the space suit and blasted her siren scream at the entrance. Professor Zoom, entering the cave, was about to duck to the side to avoid it, but surprisingly didn't move fast enough. He was hit with the paralyzing sound. With his own exhaustion and injuries, he welcomed the black that flooded his vision and closed his eyes. Zoom collapsed, and Canary caught him before he hit the hot, rocky floor.

"Batman, we got them. Get us out of here."

* * *

"Bruce." Wally opened his eyes to the bright lights of the Watchtower. He secretly thought he would never see them again, and sighed with relief at the sight of them. Turning his head to the side, he could see Superman was supporting him, slinging one of his arms around the blue hero's neck. "Supes. Boy, am I glad to see you two. Where's Thawne?"

"We have Thawne in a level four containment field. He's unconscious, and won't get out anytime soon now."

"How'd we get him?" Wally let go of Superman, trying to find his own balance. He was aware of a plate of food being shoved in his hands, courtesy of Diana, who just arrived. If he didn't see her as a sister, he would be in complete love with her right then. The fastest way to a man's heart, or at least, to a Flashs's, is through his stomach.

"You tired Professor Zoom out, so he was less aware and less careful about what was going on. You entered the volcano, and Superman brought you to the back of the volcano where you would be out of the way of Black Canary's scream. It was a very real possibility that Zoom would dodge her scream, and that's why we needed the volcano. If you increase the temperature, the speed of sound is actually increases as well and is faster than when it travels through room temperature gases. Not to mention, heat relaxes the muscles and makes the averaged person fatigued. Zoom wasn't able to evade her attack in time."

Wally smiled, admitting that he would have never thought of something like that. Well, that was what made Batman so formidable.

"Thank good ol' Hera it's over, and the bombs?"

Diana, though amused by his jokes, frowned and turned to Wally, who was stuffing his face.

"We can't find the last one. We're currently evacuating the city."

Wally stopped eating.

"How much time do we have left?"

"Only five minutes."

Dropping the plate, Flash materialized over the teleporting pad. He couldn't stand the idea of any part of his city being destroyed by that maniac. They had already lost so much thanks to him. Wally had already lost so much thanks to him.

"Beam me down to Central. I'm going to find that bomb."

"Wally, no. Look at yourself. You can barely stand." Flash stopped his muscles from trembling. Steadying his shaky hands, he held them out in front of himself and pretended to inspect them.

"I look as awesome as usual, if I do say so myself." It was a lie; he knew it. He needed only to look down to see his ribs sticking out from underneath the red spandex of his costume. "Look, I have to do this, okay? Come on, someone just give me a hint. There must be some clue as to where this bomb is."

"Flash," said Superman as he stepped forward to console the young hero, "we checked everywhere, and we have no clues-"

"Not so fast."

The eerie voice of the Question slipped through the loud conversations of the crew and other heroes, silencing the entire room. The Question slithered through the crowds of people and pulled out the graph that he had been working on the entire time on the center table and on closer inspection, everyone could see that it was a map of Central City. The map looked off though. It seemed to be mapped by altitudes, instead of locations.

"There is a pattern in everything. Even when people attempt to resist it, they all fall into natural patterns and actions. Facing the facts, humans just aren't that creative. I mapped out each bomb location as they were listed, but found absolutely no pattern whatsoever. Yet, when you map the bombs as they were found vertically," the Question showed another graph, and a clear pattern of changing altitudes became obvious, "you can now see that the bomb fills in a missing point in this pattern. Zoom would have planted the bomb on ground level."

"Oh great," Flash through his hands up in the air, "ground level. Good to know that I don't have to look up in the sky."

"No sarcasm, Flash. This is valuable information. Superman found many bombs in apartments and buildings on the top floor. Now, think about this; you're the only one who can answer this. The bomb is on ground level, and must be in a container that has lead in it as Kara and Superman can not see it. There is also a chance this place may have a large amount of nostalgic influence, considering the personality of the villain."

Flash stayed silent, contemplating all of Question's information. Finally, it hit him like a ton of bricks. He turned to the Terrific.

"How much time do I have?"

"One minute. There's no way-"

"Beam me down. Now!" The worker responded without question, unfamiliar and scared of the authoritative, angry voice the Flash used. It was foreign to all of their ears, and the bright blue light was all they before the man who had been the center of their attention was gone.

* * *

He raced through the barren, empty city. No one was there; everyone was safe. However, Wally didn't want the citizens of Central to lose anything, one single thing, to this monster. Whether it was a doll their mother gave them, a house they just bought, or their husband's cremated ashes. Zoom would not disturb one essence of their life. He would make sure of it.

Ignoring his now cramping legs, he made it to his destination: the Central City bank.

Bursting through the doors, he went straight to the safe deposit room in the back. There was one particular safe in Central City that was boasted for it's security. It was at least as tall as him, painted a dark black, and took up a quarter of the room in its width. Wally remembered this safe because he one time had to investigate a bank robbery as a forensic scientist. The owner of the bank could not stop boasting about the one safe that had not been cracked. He remembered one of the strong points of this of this safe was its impenetrable metal, thanks to the lead-like properties in its chemical makeup.

"I have 23 seconds. Come on, Wally, how are you going to open this?...Well, I'll get Bats to pay back the bank." Flash paused and grimaced. "This is kinda dangerous, considering this is a bomb and all, but oh well."

Flash vibrated his hands at amazing speeds, disturbing the chemical makeup of the safe and causing the door to explode. A large, silver missile rested inconspicuously among green wads of cash. Seeing the bomb, and realizing how big it was, Flash knew that this bomb was no joke, and would have to be taken far away to make sure that it would not effect any city. If Wally knew more about bombs, he would have been able to tell that it was a nuclear missile. However, he didn't. He just knew that he had to run, and fast, to get the bomb out of the United states. Grabbing the bombs with both arms, he carried it and headed for the Gulf of Mexico, the closest and largest body of water.

_10 seconds to get there. _

Flash left Central City in a blur. The citizens heard the zipping of the Flash and vaguely saw his red costume move through the area. They knew he was saving them, and they also felt some odd gravity of the situation. Without reserve, the citizens, cheered for their hero, though they knew he couldn't hear them. Shayera, who happened to catch a glimpse of her little brother, started to fly off in the same direction her was heading. She stopped when Green lantern put a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head, telling her it was obviously futile to trail him. The pair stood in silence, staring at the horizon.

_I can get this bomb over the water. _Flash was dripping with sweat and grunting in pain, but he carried the heavy bomb in his arms. It was slowing him down, but he held himself together. _I know I can get this bomb over the water, but...I'm not sure I can make it back from the water. _

* * *

Unknown to him, the Watchtower was crowded around the screen that displayed the tracked progress given by the comm link in Wally's ear.

"He's over the edge of Texas, and heading the the Gulf of Mexico." Terrific, like everyone else in the room, was holding his breath, afraid for their teammate.

"He has five seconds; he'll make it!" This came from one of the civilian workers, who was also watching the dot and hoping for the hero's success. The dot neared the center of the ocean; everyone attempted to watch the clock and the screen simultaneously.

"You don't understand," another civilian piped up, "the hard part is the turnaround. It takes the most time."

"Three seconds." The dot temporarily stalled before turning back to the direction of the shore. Everyone released the air they were holding.

"Detonation."

And then, the steady beeping red dot, the one that symbolized Flash's movement, disappeared.

The Watchtower became completely silent.

It was an amazing silence, where no one was breathing. No person was moving. Not even the usual sounds of generators were heard in the control room. All eyes were glued to the screen, hoping to see the reappearance of the red dot, hoping to see it was all a fluke.

It didn't.

Then, all hell broke lose.

* * *

**BAM. Next chapter=LAST CHAPTER! **

**Or should I make it longer? hmmm...**

**Wow, so close to the end guys!**

**I know this came a day late. I'm sorry! It's because I actually extended this chapter and made it much, much longer. Also, please forgive any typos. I gave this to my editor, Ersatz Einstein, way late, so it couldn't be edited by her amazing / professional eyes!**

**I hope I didn't miss any details, and it's good to be back from the slow updates! Yay, I have time again! **

**NEXT CHAPPY, LAST CHAPPY, UP ON SUNDAY. **


	18. In the Long Run

**HERE IT IS. THE FINAL CHAPTER.**

**And it is very, very long. I hope you enjoy this read, and I hope I didn't leave any loose ends laying around. I really hope I didn't. I also hope you guys, well, like the ending. That was actually what I was most afraid of as I wrote this. I knew this was the ending I imagined from the beginning, but...still. **

**Nevertheless, i****t has been my great pleasure reading all of your reviews thus far, and I thank you all deeply for your support. **

**Please enjoy my Christmas present to all of you! (If you don't celebrate Christmas, then take it as a New Year's present. Or something. You choose.)**

**Read on, my friends.**

* * *

People were pushing and shoving away from the screen, all of them racing to the teleprompter pad. Yells and shouts sounded throughout the control room, overlapping each other, rendering them altogether unintelligible. Every hero screamed orders, every civilian pointed fingers, and a few people went hysterical and cried.

"To the teleporter pads! We need to help him!"

"Come back! We have to plan this!"

"No, deploy the javelin! It'll be better! We can't all fly!"

"It's your fault! You jinxed him!"

"Are you kidding?! How could I possibly-"

Superman, tired of trying to gently bring down the energy in the room, sighed in frustration and soared above the mess of heroes and workers below him. He took a few deep breaths to calm down, diminishing the red glow in his eyes that was a result of his anger, confusion, and desire to fly down to the gulf and search the entire body of water himself. Finally, locking eyes with the other top heroes, Wonder Woman and Batman, he made his move.

"QUIET."

It wasn't a yell or a scream. However, it rang above all the noise in the crowded area. Every person in the room froze, because when Superman talked, you listened.

"It's obvious we aren't getting anywhere like this. Now, I want every civilian worker to please return to their stations and continue the maintenance of the Watchtower."

Superman knew that many of the workers were good friends with Wally, who actually knew all of them by name and consistently chatted with them in his free time. It was hard for them to not do something, but they knew that it would be better to let the heroes handle this themselves. He watched as all the civilians filed out and returned to their regular positions, and a sense of calm and normalcy returned to the room. Surveying the heroes left, he noticed that there weren't very many to work with. Along with Batman, Wonder Woman, Terrific, Question, and all who had been at the Watchtower for quite a long period of time, there was the newly arrived Black Canary and the rest of her team from Zimbabwe. Another team of seven had arrived shortly after finishing their own mission, but they weren't the most experienced or well-known heroes.

"I think the best bet we have for recovering Flash is to first deploy all heroes capable of flight. Be prepared to beam down."

Of all the heroes formerly mentioned, those who could fly nodded in agreement and followed Superman's orders.

"Terrific, please inform Shayera, GL, J'onn and Kara about what happened and get them over to the Gulf as soon as possible. I think they'll be a great help in the search. Whoever is still on the ground at Central, please tell them to escort the civilians back into the city and that it's safe."

Terrific nodded and opened the communication links to Central.

"All other heroes, await further orders."

Superman levitated down until he was beside his respected colleague and friend, Batman. The Caped Crusader had just closed a communications signal out to someone, and Superman just barely caught the end of the conversation.

"Who was that?"

Batman stalked in another direction, now walking away from the panel and towards the center of the room.

"Aquaman. I called in a favor,and asked him to help the search." Superman crinkled his nose.

"Aquaman?"

"Clark, Wally can't swim." Superman's eyes widened, unaware of this development in the situation. "There's a big chance that he's not going to be anywhere near the surface if he is still in one piece."

"Fine. Good call. What are you going to do right now?"

Batman proceeded to walk towards the back of the Watchtower, pausing at the threshold of the automatic doors.

"We have a submarine, don't we?"

Superman smirked.

"I'll see you down there."

* * *

Wonder Woman soared above the endless blue. Tired of staring at the repetitive scenery, she began to reflect on her time in man's never really thought about it, but the one person that had made her feel the most welcome from the moment she left Themyscira was Wally.

His flirting, though at first it put her off, was at least friendly and kind compared to the stern behavior of the superheroes she associated with. It didn't take her long to realize that his flirting was harmless, and did nothing but create a light-hearted atmosphere among everyone. Having had dinner with him a couple times, she found that Wally's personality was truly genuine, charming and heartwarming. In her eyes, he was the symbol of good. Someone with a clear sign of justice, a gut intuition that was rare and unchallenged. An example of the true kindness that man was capable of, though it may be disguised by seemingly rude and off-setting manners.

Not only that, but knowing what he had to deal with as a child had given her even more insight into his character. Wonder Woman wouldn't admit it out loud, but she did see Wally differently now that she knew his horrific past.

To her, Flash had always been the loving jokester and heart of the team. But now, he was more than just the conscience of the group.

He was the epitome of strength.

* * *

Superman flew high above the ocean, using his incredible eyesight to scan vast amounts of water, searching religiously for something in red.

Reminiscing about the first time he had met the Flash, Clark let a small smile adorn his face. He remembered disliking Wally, intensely. Superman had agreed to a race around the world with the Flash to raise funds for charity and because the world had been intensely curious to see who was the fastest of the two. His arrogance, flirting, and constant joking had made Superman think he didn't take his job as a hero seriously. He had believed that he was just a kid. Someone who wasn't ready to graduate from his role as a sidekick, and was enamored with the public attention and too immature to make the smart decisions. However, when a ship had overturned in the high seas by a vicious typhoon, Wally didn't even think twice about saving the crew, though that meant he might lose the race. In the end, the pair never knew who was fastest (another villain had shown up, and Flash and Superman had to team up to best him), but both knew that the other was a respectable and equally capable hero.

It took too long for Superman to realize the genuine qualities in Wally, in his own opinion. It took much too long for him to see how essential he was to the team, and that the person he thought was an immature kid was actually someone who had grown up very fast, and had a very good judgement of what was right and wrong.

Superman wanted to save Wally not only because he was a fellow hero and friend, but also because he believed the world didn't deserve to lose someone like him.

Or, he wouldn't admit it, but maybe because the world couldn't afford to lose someone like him.

* * *

Green Lantern saw Martian Manhunter floating in the distance and decided to fly over and compare notes with the alien before continuing the search.

"J'onn." The universal guardian floated over. "Have you found anything?"

Seeing his colleague, the martian dimly shook his head, wishing he could report good news. John sighed and went to continue the search, but he couldn't stop himself from asking one question.

"Did you know? About Wally? About how he grew up?"

Martian Manhunter stopped his mental search momentarily. His eyes ceased glowing orange, and he turned to face John completely.

"When I met you all, I did not read any of your minds. However, I did read your characters. With Wally, I always felt a warmth in his aura. His thoughts seemed simpler than most humans, not weighed down by politics or inter-connections. He only considered what was the right thing to do. I found his mind pleasing, and his character child-like, but admirable. It wasn't until much later that I sensed a sadness, coupled with an overwhelming feeling of responsibility and dedication. Though, considering his story, it was amazing I never felt anger or revenge."

John, enlightened by the information, simply nodded.

"You know, when I first met him I thought he was just some punk kid. I'd talked to Barry before, and I respected the man since he was good friends with Hal. When I first met Wally, he didn't seem like he understood what he was in for. But Hal asked me to watch over him and try to keep him from making stupid mistakes when Barry left, and I started feeling like it was my responsibility to make sure he didn't mess up too bad. Though, I think along the way, Wally is the one who taught me something. He showed me that not everything had to be strict rules and regulations. He reminded me how rewarding our job as a hero was, and that I didn't do what I did because it was some mission. I was supposed to help him make the right decisions, and yet..."

John smiled as he thought back to one of his best friend's antics. He began to glide off, with renewed energy to continue his search.

"I really had an easy job, didn't I?"

* * *

Glaring at the dark blue around him, Bruce searched the open water for any speck of crimson. He was quietly hoping that he wouldn't be the one to find Flash. Finding him below the waves would be the worst possible thing to happen. That would mean they had been too late.

Batman, out of default, fell into his usual habit. He began to analyze the situation, and think of every possible outcome and what actions could be done to reverse it.

First outcome: Wally dead. The League, along with many civilians touched by the Flash, would be mourning. Nightwing would probably never talk to him again, and their communication with each other would cease to exist. The only association they would share would be that Dick Grayson had once been Bruce Wayne's ward. Central City, not only in grief, would experience a huge influx in crime. One of the big seven not originally responsible for an area would have to sign up to watch over it.

Speaking of the original seven, Superman would probably not be the same. He would be quick to anger, and if he succumbed to the temptations he did in the Justice Lord's universe, then no one would be there to stop him. In fact, they would all be on board with him. Shayera and John would take Wally's death the hardest since they considered him more than a close colleague but a friend, maybe even family. Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter would become colder; an emotional wall would rise between all of the Leaguers. A barrier that could never be broken, with the realization of the distinct possibility of death. And he...

He would be re-living something emotionally similar to Jason's end. Maybe not as disheartening or tragic, but it might be the last straw that broke the camel's back. He would remain isolated, in complete solitude, trying to think of a solution to the cruel twist the world had taken without ever setting foot in the sunlight. While trying to fix it, everything around him would continue to deteriorate. Politics, law, and justice, usually clear-cut lines of black and white, would fade to shades of grey.

The world would crumble and shatter, and no one would even see it coming.

* * *

Shayera resisted the urge to wipe her eyes.

She was soaring over the Gulf, searching the ocean with an undeniable sense of desperation. The sheer mist clouding her vision angered her, it hindered her ability to search, and her anger only fueled the pooling frustration in her mind.

"Has anyone found anything yet?"

She hated to be that person, but she loathed this waiting period even more. She deeply regretted to admit it was one moment where fighting and swinging her mace wasn't going to help her.

_"I have tried, but I cannot establish telepathic communication with him." _

J'onn's statement disheartened her more than she would like to admit, and she was sure others felt the same way.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something that didn't blend in with the monotonous blue of the ocean. Veering sharply left and diving closer to the water, she caught a glimpse of something peeking out of the water's surface. Two grey bumps and...something dark, dark red.

Shayera gasped and flew forward at speeds she had never flown before. Finally, she was close enough to see the outline of a body, and the bright yellow of a lightening bolt on a chest. Wally was steadily moving towards the shore, kept afloat by two dolphins. Suspecting that this was Aquaman's work, she made a mental note to thank him later. She swooped down and gingerly picked Flash up from the two dolphins, who stared at her briefly before swimming away. She smiled at the two mammals. Holding Wally in her arms, she noted that he was much, much lighter than he had ever been before, and his skin was a papery grey shade, contrasting starkly with his usual sunny glow. His breathing was shallow, labored, staccato... and with each passing moment Shayera feared that the previous breath would be his last.

Reaching up to her ear, she pushed aside her copper red hair and opened a transmission wave to all heroes and the Watchtower.

"I found him, but he's in critical condition. Prepare a medical room at the Watchtower."

* * *

"You're awake."

The Dark Knight loomed in the far corner of the room, his face concealed by shadows. Professor Zoom slowly cracked open one eye and saw him beyond the glass of his containment unit. He lazily shut his eye before turning his back on the hero. Zoom did not see him as someone worthy of his time.

"What of it?"

No response came from the other man in the dimly lit room. Zoom grinned, his eyes still peacefully closed.

"How is Flash? Tell me, did he make it through the hell I put him through? Or did he finally shrivel up and die?"

Batman stepped out from the darkness, now next to the glass casing lined with electric voltage to keep the speedster inside.

"He's fine. Better than fine, actually. He got past the mental block that kept him at the speed of sound. He's faster, stronger."

Batman paused, waiting for a comment. What he said had yet to be verified, as Flash was in a fragile state and was currently being stabilized in the medical room. Hearing nothing but silence, he continued.

"How does it feel to know that, in going back to end the life of a man you hated, you actually created him?"

Zoom grit his teeth, his eyes shot open in white hot fury. Standing from the bed, he trudged over to talk to the Bat, face-to-face.

"I have plenty of time to try again. And this best part is, you won't even know when it's happening. You'll just assume that it had always been a reality, always been a part of your time stream. You have no idea of the power I hold."

Zoom was tempted to touch the glass, but he had already tried that, and even he admitted the shock was more than a little painful.

"Likewise for Wally. From what I saw, he could beat you in a race if he wanted to."

Another glare from Zoom, but those never effected Batman.

"What drives your anger anyway? Why Wally?"

"I wanted so bad to be the Flash once. That was all I wanted." The Reverse-Flash thought back, a nostalgic look on his face. "He is a relic in my time, a hero worshipped in the 25th century, but no longer alive. I wanted to fight crime, gain super-speed, and I had heard about the amazing feats of the Flash. It took me a couple of tries, but when I finally recreated the experiment that granted the Flashes their power, I was so happy. I used that power to try and make the world a better place, a utopia. I enforced the laws strictly, created a completely safe world where everyone was free from harm. But..."

The almost peaceful look that had been in the doctor's face transformed. Serenity quickly became fury.

"He denied me. Someone, a descendent of the Allen family, apparently, brought him back to our time to destroy my world. Flash said what I was doing was wrong, something about limiting free choice, or the pursuit of happiness. Something ridiculous like that. He destroyed my work, and made me who I am. A villain. Ever since then, I have been working to destroy his existence, and recreate it as my own."

Locking eyes with Batman, Zoom lowered his voice to a deadly whisper.

"I deserve to be the Flash. I can do so much more than him. I would do so much better than him."

Unwilling to back down from Zoom's intense glare, Batman only narrowed his eyes before turning to leave the room and return to the medical wing.

"Every villain is the hero in his own story."

* * *

_Wally stood in a room full of water. Instead of falling into it, like in any normal situation, he merely hovered above it, somehow not disturbing its tranquil surface. Everything around him was just dark, he couldn't see past it, through it, or anything. He had no sense of where he was, if he was moving, what was up or down. He was just there, __hovering... It was a strange feeling. He couldn't quite explain it, but he wasn't really thinking about how to. He just felt complete. Whole. It was a rare moment of him not being able to tell if he was moving too fast or if he was completely slowed down, or if these two opposing movements were occurring simultaneously within him. Something about the contradiction, the quality that made them opposites, no longer mattered to him. His logic was gone, but at the same time everything made sense. He wasn't there, but at the same time he was everywhere. The feeling was invigorating. _

"I need more bags of glucose, and fast!" One of the head doctor' in the head medical wing was attempting to stabilize Flash's emaciated body, but it was hard to keep up with the speedster's break-neck pace. Nurses were constantly running in and out of the operating room, hectic and frenzied. The irregular and sporadic beeping resounding from the cardiac machine unsettled all people in hearing range. Standing behind the glass window that allowed visual into the hospital room, the original seven watched the events unfold.

_The room, which had been nothing but blackness, steadily began to get brighter. Seeing a light out of the corner of his vision, Wally turned to face the luminescent, shining object. He felt like crying when he saw it. It was_ _beautiful, magnificent. There was some majestic quality to it, and it felt distinctly like he was coming home after a long and bitter absence. He gained an overwhelming desire to touch it, and Wally found the room steadily brightening. The glowing light was moving closer to him, or was it him moving closer to it? It didn't matter. He felt his individuality fading, his memories moving away. He was becoming part of something larger than anything he could have possibly become as an individual entity._

"We're losing him!" A nurse shouted out to the doctor as the heart monitor growing increasingly erratic. The doctor glared before hooking up more IV's to Flash's arm, this time with water to fight the dehydration.

"Not on my watch. Grab the defibrillator! Bring it here, and prepare it for use." The doctor watched as the heart monitor went completely hectic, then displayed a flat line. He expected this, and the ringing siren that resounded throughout the room. Thanks to years of practice and hardened nerves, the doctor did not even flinch as he put the pads on his hands.

"Clear!"

And a shock wave rang through the Flash's body.

_Flash was embracing the light, but just as he was about to enter it, merge with it, he felt a strange tug pull him back. He fought it, and trudged forward towards his temptation. Getting closer, he saw a mirror image of himself. The same grin and happy-go-lucky attitude appeared in front of him, an exact copy of him. For some reason, this didn't register as odd._

_"Come inside!" The other him shouted. "There are way hotter babes in here than you could ever imagine. Real angels." _

"Dammit, son. You, of all people, should be familiar with electricity, you dolt. Clear!" Flash's body convulsed on the operating table, his muscles brought briefly to life by the electric currents, before falling limply to the table once again.

_The tug was stronger this time, and more insistent. Wally had been laughing at the other him's joke, but with the pull at his conscious, he turned around, looking for something. If he thought really hard about everything, he could remember that, for some reason, he really, really wasn't supposed to go towards the light. _

_Turning back, his twin, the previously happy and exultant other, looked angry and aggressive. The red that was in the reflection Flash's uniform faded quickly, eventually sliding off him into the water and becoming only a shade of black. Wally took a step back in fear as this less than friendly him sped forward. The __impostor Flash's skin began to melt, becoming an indiscernible liquid mixed with his dark uniform. With horror, Wally realized he couldn't move or run away from this Black Flash. _

"That's it. Hit him hard, give full voltage! On my count: 1, 2, 3, Clear!"

_Just as the Black Flash's hand, or claw, stretched out and was about to rip off his head, a strong river of energy flowed through him, and with it, he remembered everything. The memories of w__ho he was, how he grew up, what he was doing, what was he was fighting, and his unwavering determination not to die sprung forth. With this realization, the spell was broken. Catching a breath, his hovering collapsed as he suddenly plunged into the deep, dark waters below. It was like a trap door had opened, and he was no longer magically suspended on the surface. He felt the wind from the Black Flash's swipe brush over his head. Looking up, Wally could see the monster above the water growl at his missed opportunity, before dissolving into thin air as tendrils of smoke. Flash saw the image get further and further away from him, and dimly understood that he was sinking. No longer able to hold his breath, Wally opened his mouth and the water flooded in._

_It burned, and pain ripped through his body. It was unexpected. It was unimaginable. It was horrible. The numb serenity he had felt earlier dissolved, and his body felt like a white hot iron as he choked in agony. He wanted to run from it, to swim out of the murky waters and be blessed with the surface again, but he knew he couldn't. _

_Wally knew the pain meant he was alive. _

"We have him!" The doctor shouted with joy with the sound of the regular, albeit a bit fast, heartbeat. "Vitals are normal, breathing stabilized. Rapid healing and regeneration occurring thanks to the nutrients in his body."

The other heatlh care workers in the room grinned before starting a round of applause for their success. The head doctor laughed before looking over to the original seven, who were standing behind the window and smiling. He smiled as well before walking over to inform them in more depth.

"Did you guys get that?"

Superman gave the doctor a thumbs up.

"Every word of it, doc. Glad you guys pulled through."

"Whether it was luck or his stubbornness, we'll never know. All I know is it's good to have him alive." Looking back at his recent success, the middle-aged doctor surveyed his patient resting serenely on the table. "When the bomb went off, the aftershock must have knocked him off his feet. When you're running on water, that's a particularly bad thing. His comm link was blown out of his ear as well, seeing as we couldn't find it anywhere. All that aside, he'll probably wake up in three days' time. Which is miraculous given his injuries and state, but that's just how he is. Wouldn't have him any other way."

"You can say that again."

Wonder Woman nodded at Superman. Understanding her nod, he turned back to the professor.

"You'll let us know if there are any immediate developments, right? Apparently there's a natural disaster in Japan." Clark shrugged. "The never-ending battle."

"Of course. I'll keep you posted."

* * *

A groan escaped his lips, and his hands flew up to gingerly rub his temples. Wally realized he was awake and it was bright outside, but for once he wasn't so anxious to wake up.

"Ugh, my aching head."

Flash heard a light giggle in the room. Shocked that someone else was in his apartment, he shot upwards from his bed.

Then, he realized he wasn't in his apartment. He was in the Watchtower medical room, and all his super-friends were around him. Registering his surroundings, a wave of relief flooded his being. The other original founders sat around the bed, each of them smiling at the red-headed hero. It didn't take long for him to remember what had happened, what had just been accomplished. Wally did a quick glance down at his body, and was glad to see that his ribs were back to being hidden by a sufficient layer of skin and muscle. His body wasn't at its one-hundred percent, but it was nothing some burgers and fries wouldn't fix. Grinning at his comrades, Wally sat back in the bed and put his arms behind his head.

"Well, looks like we did it."

Shayera shook her head. She ruffled Wally's red hair, since his mask was off. Shayera would never describe herself as a gentle person, but that was all she ever was with Wally.

"You did it. We just helped with the final push."

Wally smiled, glad that the entire scenario was finally over. However, even with the joy he felt now, he knew that this could not last forever. Flash regained a more serious demeanor.

"How long have I been out?"

"Three days," said Superman. "The doctor said this would be the average amount of time you needed for recovery, so you're good to go now."

"Everyone safe? Central City okay?"

"Not one hair out of place."

Flash released a relieved sigh, glad his efforts had not been in vein. It felt odd. He knew that everything should just go back to normal, or at least he wished it would, but with all that had happened...Wally couldn't help but feel a little unclean. He felt tired, and confused about whether he should be happy, sad, or angry. He attempted to shove the feelings back down, but the look on J'onn's face told him that the alien felt his unsettled mind. Contemplating how to address the situation, Wally decided that he first had to face the root of all his problems. He had to talk to Professor Zoom.

"I'm assuming you didn't just kill the guy, right?"

The temperature in the room felt like it just dropped ten degrees. An unsettling silence filled their ears. This time Batman stepped forward to speak.

"Of course not. He's in a containment cell in the back unit of the Watchtower."

Flash nodded, keeping full eye contact with the the World's Greatest Detective.

"Take me to him."

* * *

Flash entered the room, the automatic door sliding shut behind him. He saw the bright yellow costume of his archenemy, and he immediately sympathized with the lantern corp, deciding that yellow was also his least favorite color. Flash, standing at the threshold of the entrance, coughed to alert the captive that he was there.

Zoom turned around and sat up on the bed he had been laying on. Seeing who it was at the door, he smirked and stood, walking to the edge of the glass.

"I knew it was you; I could feel it."

Flash walked closer to the edge of the containment. He felt anger-and fear-begin to bubble up within him, but he ignored it.

"I'll pretend I'm not freaked out by that statement."

"Annoying child. You don't know what the speed force even is yet, do you?"

Wally raised an eyebrow. Barry had never told him about a speed force. Thinking back on it, Barry probably didn't even know that it existed. Wally had always felt something tugging at him, connecting him to other speedsters and giving him his ability to use speed, but it never really registered on him that it could be a separate force.

"Speed force?"

"Of course you wouldn't know." Zoom scoffed and glared at the wall. "To be beaten by such a novice. I'm sure it won't happen again."

Flash raised another eyebrow, now an feeling anxious. Dread spread within him like fire under his skin.

"It won't have to happen again. You're not getting out of here."

Zoom looked at Flash and his expression morphed into an arrogant smirk.

"You cannot honestly believe that I can't get out of here. I was simply waiting to see if you're alive or not, and if I would have to try and kill you again." His yellow body began vibrating, and his outline slowly blurred. "It seems my work isn't done."

Zoom began to give off an electric charge. Flash took a couple steps back, antsy about this new development. He was contemplating numerous ways to stop him, but the small panic attack he was having wasn't helping. Mini-lightning bolts jumped off the villains body and soon Wally couldn't see anything of the man that used to be there. Thawne was only a bright ball of light.

Then, for some reason, Wally wasn't alarmed; in fact, he was calm. The feeling rushed over him as soon as he noticed it. Something was different, and Zoom felt it too. However, when Zoom felt the subliminal change, he reacted with fear. Flash smiled and looked at the older Professor.

"You know, something tells me that this speed force-thing doesn't like you very much." Flash smiled as Zoom's eyes glowed a bright red. "In fact, I don't think it's going to let you back. I feel it. And judging by the look in your eyes, you feel it too."

Zoom's eyes, the only thing visible, widened in fear. A luminescence shown through them, telling both speedsters that he was about to warp out of the time zone.

"What? How, How is this possible? It can't pick and choose! I can't! I swear, I'll-"

An eruption of blinding light flooded the room, leaving Flash seeing stars. Wally covered his eyes for a moment, and reopened them only to see an empty cell. It was completely silent. It was a typical, deafening silence, one that usually followed a large rush of adrenaline. Flash was unsettled by the fact that Zoom had gotten away, but like he said, this connection, this speed force, felt different. He wasn't too concerned that Zoom was coming back through its means, or at least he wasn't coming back anytime soon. Wally felt like his mastery of his powers grew tremendously, and admittedly, he felt like he would rival Barry now if he ever saw him again.

Barry. Flash couldn't explain it, but his mentor felt more alive to him than ever. Whenever he ran or used his speed, Wally felt like he was right there next to him. When Zoom said the words "speed force," Flash couldn't help but think of Barry. It was yet another thing that was clouding his already cluttered mind. Deciding to investigate this later, Flash turned to leave the empty room.

He shut off the light, and left through the door.

* * *

"He's gone?" Batman, with his usual stoic expression, glanced back at the Flash. The rest of the League sat in the conference room, with shocked expressions adorning their faces.

"Yea. The field can't stop time travel. But no worries, I don't think he's coming back... well, anytime soon."

The Dark Knight glanced at him in confusion.

"And you know this how?"

Flash grinned, knowing the answer would piss off his colleague.

"I just know, Bats."

The other heroes around the table gave a little chuckle. Wally smiled, glad that they were all able to go on as usual. Everything seemed like it was falling back into routine, but not for him. For once in his life, Flash felt like he actually needed some time to catch up with everything that happened. He was, at present, out of step with the reality that surrounded him. Martian Manhunter, who had been keeping close tabs on the Scarlet Speedster since his release from the medical room, noticed this feeling.

"Wally." All heroes turned to look at the extra-terristerial. "It is not bad to take a break. We have everything covered in the League if you need it."

If Flash had been his normal self, he would have turned down the offer. But he learned a lot about himself during these past couple days, and he learned a lot about what it meant to be a hero. As a hero, he had to recognize when he may need a break or a little help, because what he did wasn't about him; it was about the millions of people they protected every day.

"Yea, I haven't had a vacation in a while. I think I just need some time off. Maybe a couple days of just me and Central City, if you don't mind."

The other heroes looked at each other before looking down the table to Superman. The Man of Steel smiled and nodded his head.

"You can have a week off, and the only jurisdiction you have to worry about is Central City. Sound good?"

"Sounds great, Supes." Flash stood from his chair and began to walk towards the exit.

"I'll take you up on your offer, starting-" Flash ran out of the room as a red blur. The back draft scattered all the papers on the table. His final words traveled after him, as he raced out of the room to the teleporter.

"-now."

Green Lantern grunted, picking up the papers with his power ring.

"I told him not to do that inside."

* * *

Wally sat in his civilian identity on a Central Park bench. It was a warm, sunny day. There wasn't a cloud in sight, making Central City even more beautiful than it normally was. He watched the kids play around in the grass and romantic couples have a picnic date. Bored, Wally let out an exasperated sigh. When he took a break from the Justice League, he had just wanted to live life as the Flash. Simple. But apparently, all the rogues were afraid to face him now that he defeated a villain that the original Flash himself had vanquished to.

Now, he was forced to face all the things he realized in his fight with Zoom and the flashback to his previous life.

That centered around one, key thing: who was Wally West?

Was he some cheap imitation of Barry? Was that just some recovery mechanism that he did when Barry died? Or was Wally just trying to be anything but the messed up kid he knew he was? Everytime he thought about these questions, Wally had to admit he didn't know the answer, and that he wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer.

Sitting on the end of the bench, Wally caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head slowly, to make sure he wasn't using his powers. He was greeted by the sight of a young woman. She was shuffling through a newspaper, quickly turning the pages, looking for something. She was so absorbed in her search, she unwittingly sat on the end of the same bench that Wally occupied. He smirked, finding her actions amusing. Even with her angry mutterings, Wally could see the beauty in the girl that sat beside him. Her long, silky black hair fell over her shoulders, and her dainty hand moved upwards to tuck back a piece of it behind her small ear.

_Cute._

Suddenly, the woman slammed the newspaper down on the space beside her, unwittingly hitting the Flash's hand with her hard slap. Wally saw it coming, but let her hand descend down on his.

"Hey!" Wally lifted his hand, nursing it. His charming smile spreading across his face. "Hurt the newspaper, not the rest of us."

The woman gave an apologetic smile, before releasing a frustrated sigh.

"Sorry about that."

As a hero, he met plenty of gorgeous women and some of those even intimidated him, but with this girl, he was completely relaxed and completely drawn to her. Wally didn't believe in magic, but just looking at her and feeling the emotions he felt, he could imagine that this was the closest real life got to it. But he was getting ahead of himself, plenty of women he had met have left him because he had "moved too fast."

"No worries. Now, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were angry." The hero pointed down to the newspaper. "And at that piece of paper."

The ebony-haired women smiled and turned to face the other side of the bench completely. She observed Wally, his red-hair and fit build, and immediately thought he was handsome.

"I'm a reporter, and when your story ends up on the very last page of the paper, you can't help but feel a little stung."

"Really? Reporters care about that?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Of course! A person's more likely to read the first page than the last."

Wally rubbed his chin contemplating this.

"That's true. I usually stop at the front page picture though."

The woman let out a peal of laughter. Wally grinned widely in response. He loved the sound of her laugh.

"I'm really talking to an idiot here, aren't I? You can't even make it to the title line!"

Another fit of giggles, and she slid a little closer to him. Other people would not have noticed, but Wally was sensitive to movement. After her laugh, she placed her arm on the back of the bench and rested her chin on her hand. She began closely examining him, and for the first time since Wally talked to her, the red-suited hero began to feel a little self-conscious. He felt naked enough already without his mask on, her staring at him didn't make him feel many better.

"So, what's up with you?"

Wally rose an eyebrow. Was she psychic? For a moment he was reminded of Raven from his Teen Titan days. Fidgeting a little, Wally uncrossed his legs and slung his arm on the back of the bench.

"Up? Nothing's 'up' with me. I'm a perfectly normal, single," Wally slipped in a cheesy wink, "guy."

"I'm very observant." She lowered her head and wore a coy smirk. "Not to mention I'm a smart, single women with a strong intuition. So tell me: What's wrong?"

"Well, it's nothing I would want to worry someone I just met."

Her attention was still focused on him; her eyes willing him to go on anyway.

"Oh, try me. I love a good story."

Wally couldn't help but trust her, for some odd reason. Or maybe he just wanted so badly to trust her he started lying to himself. Either way, he didn't really care about it and followed his gut-instinct, as usual.

"Well, fine. So, you know how people have, uh, idols?"

She smiled.

"Of course."

"Well, I think I wanted to be like my idol so badly, that I pretty much became him, and forgot about who I was." Wally paused, feeling incredibly dumb. There it goes. She's going to leave him now. "Man, that sounds so much worse once it's out of my head."

"Oh please, at least you weren't sappy about it. Or at least, not too sappy. Anyway, I'd say you have nothing to worry about." Wally looked at her in surprise, and she continued her explanation. "Plenty of people have that worry, but you can't help but start acting like someone you idolize. And if you like the same things they do, that's normal too. The reason you idolize them in the first place is because you want to be like them, and if you do become like them, then you completed your goal. But trust me on this," her piercing eyes focused on Wally's, who sat mesmerized by her speech, "there are going to be small, slight differences that are going to make you, _you_. It could be anything from a place you know, to the people in your life. You'll just have to find out what those things are."

Wally sat back, contemplating her point. She was right, but he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of saying that out loud. To be honest he wasn't sure if it was her speech making him feel better, or if just talking to her made him feel better. He gave her a sideways glance and copied her smirk from earlier.

"I guess."_  
_

She playfully slapped his arm. Wally couldn't help but chuckle at her antics.

"Come on, you know I'm right. You just have to stop running _away_ from your fear of being, whoever it is, and start running _towards_ something."

She had no clue how right she was. In fact, her words cut him so deep, that he just sat there, baffled. After a second, which was a long enough time for him, he finally recovered from the shock of her statement enough to continue the conversation.

"You know, you should just become my personal therapist. If you want, we could-"

A sudden explosion down the street interrupted his sentence. The rogues had the worst timing. Of all times, now they finally decide to crawl out from under the rock they were hiding. The woman across from him shuffled through her purse and pulled out a notepad and pen. She quickly stood up, and before leaving, turned to the mystery man who she just met. If she ever saw him again, she secretly swore that she would give him her number.

"I have to go. Duty calls, and I think I see a front-page story in the making." She began to walk away. "You should try and read the articles instead of look at the pictures. People work hard on those. It was nice talking to you!"

She waved, before running off to the explosion. He watched her move towards the danger while all the other civilians were heading in the opposite direction, dispersing like ants in panic. Wally smiled, glad to have met the girl. He picked up the newspaper she tossed aside and flipped through it. He read it all, from the front page all the way to the ads in the back. After speed reading the articles, Wally looked around the park. No one was there.

Lifting the hatch on his Flash ring, he speed changed into his super hero identity. He took the paper he just read and checked the last page one more time, before he put the newspaper in the trash can beside the bench.

"Well, Linda Park, time to give you that front-page story."

Flash raced down the street, ready to defend the city he always loved. He ran for justice, to defend the innocent. He ran to do what was right, what needed to be done.

And, at that moment, he ran towards Linda.

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**THE END**

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**...**

**Well guys, like I said earlier, I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I have enjoyed reading your reviews.**

**There are a few people I must give a special thanks to: **

**_Ersatz Einstein_-my amazing editor, I couldn't have done it without you and your eagle eyes! **

**And here are a few of the people I remember off the top of my head that gave some great and heart-warming reviews: **

**_Lonely Bleeding Liar (Bleeding Liar 24), Dark Inu Fan, ProcrastinatorsUniteTomorrow , MysticSpeedForce, AidenSurvival, Peonywinx_**

**Actually, there really are so many of you guys! I really want to mention you all, because you all deserve it, but that would take me a while to type out. I just have to say, you're all the ones who made me _want_ to write this story. I know a lot of people say they write for reviews, but really, all of your reviews helped me figure out exactly what I was going to include in my story and basically pointed me in the right direction. **

**SO, the question is:**

**Will there be a ****sequel? **

**Yes and No.**

**I'm not really sure if I have the storyline set up in my head; there's a tentative outline, but I don't want to start something then have to scrap it because I don't like how it turned out.**

**And whatever I write, it's not going to be a true sequel in the sense that you don't HAVE to read this story to get what's going on in the next one, though it might help. It will take place after Flash enters the speed force in the Justice League, though. *is that a hint? or a spoiler? I dunno. **

**If there is a sequel, I may post a summary of it in another chapter in this story; if you guys want. So, maybe don't unfollow this story if you want more? Up to y'all. **

**So, once again guys, thanks for reading and all the support. **

**This is a bitter-sweet farewell. But still, have a Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays! **


	19. Sequel!

**I told you guys I would post here when I wrote the new story, and so I am! **

**The sequel is ready to go, and it's called ****Still Waters.**

**You can go on my profile to find it! Hope you guys like it; I'll take down this note in a week's time. **


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